The Tale of Two Teams
by Nadia Leigh
Summary: Sequel to The Boy The Girl and The Town and Old Team New Enemies. Anna and the team are dealing with the return of Emily Prentiss and the resurfacing of a new unsub that forces them to work with NCIS. Alittle humor. Ried/Emily Tiva McAbby OC/Anna OC . RR
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Reid: Hey, Nadia. Hi, Morgan. Where's Mel?**

**Morgan: Yeah, I haven't seen her in a while.**

**Nadia: *Not looking up from computer* Do you really wanna know?**

**Morgan: Ah, not so much.**

**Reid: Well I do!**

**Nadia: Introduce the story and I'll tell you.**

**Reid *Sighs* Fine. This, kind readers, is the sequel to the other two lovely stories written by Nadia Leigh. If you haven't read ****The Boy, The Girl and The Town ****and ****Old Team, New Enemies, ****you need to read them first. Enjoy your first chapter and don't forget to REVIEW or I won't talk to you anymore.**

"_I'm pregnant. And the father of the child is in this room." _

Emily stood still in front of all of us, yet slowly managed to unbutton her black blazer and reveal a somewhat small, yet very noticeable, stomach. I, being me, knew exactly who the father was, but it was unknown to everyone else as they began to sit back down and stare at Emily. Hotch closed the door to keep this meeting private and I did what the rest of the adults were afraid of: I walked over to the older agent and gave her a huge hug.

"Congratulations," I whispered. I willed my words to mean more than just congratulations, but to also give her strength in the up and coming battle agents these expert Profilers that sat at the round table.

"Thanks," she whispered back, just as quietly as I had said my words to her. Her words gave way to the fear I knew she felt but also the gratitude she wished I'd receive. As I released her from my hug, I turned to the rest of the team, a small scold on my face. None of them moved a muscle, not even Garcia. I crossed my arms in a motherly manner and nodded my head towards Emily. Still, no one moved. I sighed and looked to Jack, who stood innocently next to Hotch's chair. I kneeled in front of him and spoke softly to the timid tot.

"Hey, Jack. Guess what?" I asked.

"What?" he asked back shyly.

"Emily over there is going to have a baby."

"Really?" he asked, his whole face lighting up like he had just walked into a toy store.

"Mmm-hmm." He smile grew and he walked away from Hotch's side- just as I had hoped- and walked over to Emily.

He hugged her legs and said, "Congratulations, Aunt Emily."

"Ah, thank you, Jack!" Emily said, a smile popping onto her face, too. I stood and looked to the rest of the team, who just sat there, somewhat dumbfounded.

"Really? You lot are a bunch of idiots if a small child such as Jack does something you all should have done moments ago!" I told them, my voice cold.

"Listen, we not all sixteen like you-"

"Don't you dare say _I _wouldn't understand because you're all older than I am, Morgan!"

"Well it's true! It's not as easy for us to just congratulate her when she has just said the father is in this room!"

"Would it make you feel better if we figured out who the father was first?"

"Yes," everyone said at the same time.

"Adults," I murmured quietly.

"Well, it's not me!" Morgan said defensively.

"Wow, what a shocker there, seeing as you've been the defensive as-"

"Paige! Little ears!" Emily yelled over my voice. I just sighed.

"Dave?"

He put his hands up, shook his head and said, "Honey that ship sailed _long _ago."

"Hotch?" I asked with a smirk.

"One monkey's enough for me." _Oh, the irony! All I can think about is Barbosa from 'Pirates of the Caribbean' saying "Thank you, Jack." And Jack Sparrow being like, "Your welcome." And Barbosa smirking and saying, "Not you, we named the monkey Jack." Ha._

"Hmm. It's not Dave, you or me, then is it Paige or Garcia?" Morgan asked.

"Excuse me?" Garcia shrieked.

"What! You never know with the stuff they've got out there these days." _No, Morgan, I don't know. And I __really, __**really **__don't want to._

"Derek Morgan, you are without a doubt the-" _worst pirate I have ever seen. Ha! Too funny._

"Little ears," Hotch warned.

"Get him a pair of bloody earmuffs, will you?"

"No. Finish what you were saying, G rated."

"No thanks," I said as I sat down in my chair, crossing my arms in the process. I'm sure I looked like an angry four-year-old, but I really didn't care at the moment.

"You know, we still have the problem of not knowing who the father is," Garcia pointed out after a brief silence.

"Um, it's not me, Morgan, Hotch or the girls, and I highly doubt it's Jack, so that leaves…" Dave started.

"Me!" Reid said, a proud smile on his face. I caught his eyes and I also gave him a proud smile.

"Kid?"

"Not so much of a kid now, huh?" I smiled, trying not to laugh.

"How did you… I don't… How is this your kid?" Dave asked.

"You see, when a man and a woman-"

"Okay! Before that goes any farther, I think you should either shut it or I will take Jack to his Aunt Penny's den for a while," I said quickly. Garcia nodded her agreement in coming with me, not really needing another health lesson as an adult.

"I think we all need to get back to work anyway."

"Hotch, for once in my life I agree with you one hundred percent."

"Paige, you don't always agree with me a hundred percent?"

"I, uh, well… no, not really." He sighed and stood, collecting Jack as he passed Emily, giving her a congratulatory hug as he left. Dave, Garcia and Morgan followed suit, congratulating both parents, and heading out the door. I gave Reid a quick hug before leaving myself, as not to "intrude on their celebrating", so to speak. I walked down to the bullpen, where Agents Anderson- the big headed git of the BAU- and Noel- a newer female BAU agent of about thirty- sat, working on the TG Killer case. This is where I waited for the arrival of the NCIS agents.

... Later that Day…

"Welcome to the BAU, Zee-vah," SA Tony DiNozzo to his partner, Ziva David.

"Thank you, Tony," she said gracefully.

"Don't say that to him, Ziva. It'll only encourage him to be _even more_ childish," said McGee.

"Shut up, McGoo," Tony retorted.

"Stop it, both of you!" Ziva yelled as the elevator dinged and the trio walked over to the front desk were Anderson had the unfortunate timing of being stuck behind, looking for a part of a file.

"Hey, I'm Agent DiNozzo, and this is my partner Agent David and our co-worker Agent McGee," Tony said to him as they walked in.

"You're all from NCIS?" Anderson asked, not looking up from the computer screen.

"Yes."

"And you're here to see Agent Paige?"

"Yes, is he around?" Tony asked. Anderson looked up and was about to correct him on the gender of the agent when he saw the other agent in the back of the two, shaking her head.

He smiled, understanding the prank, and said, "Follow me. Agent Paige has been leading my partner Agent Noel and I for the past week. Agent Noel is right over there at that desk with Agent Paige and Agent Noel will be happy to great you, I'm sure. I, on the other hand, have to go restore a file on the main systems computer for this case, so if you excuse me." Anderson left as the other three agents approached the two people at the desk. One was a female with short, bright red hair- that only Ziva recognized to be Agent Paige- who was leaning on the desk and pointing things out on the other agent's computer. The other agent was unrecognizable behind the computer from the angle in which the three NCIS agents stood. Before he could do anything stupid, McGee began to recognize the red head agent as well and promptly kept his big mouth shut.

Tony, being the 'Ladies man' he was, looked the females back up and down and whistled.

Mistake number one!

…

"… and try to zoom in to that right there. Perfect, Gina. Can you blow up that picture and print it for me?" I asked Agent Noel.

"Sure can-" she started, but was cut off by a long and low whistle. I turned slowly to see a quite old man staring at me. I crossed my arms as his eyes made their way up to my face. His smile grew larger as he looked at my face.

"Why, hello there. I'm Special Agent Tony DiNozzo," he said sticking his hand out in front of him. _I thought I recognized him. That must be Ziva David and Tim McGee._ I scanned the other two agent's faces and realized they knew who I was, but not DiNozzo. I huffed out a short, exasperated breath that came out as almost a snort and looked back to DiNozzo.

"A dog. NCIS says they're going to send me down some agents and they send me a dog. How lovely." Tony looked very confused at the comment, while the other two agents began to laugh.

"Did I miss something here?"

"Oh, you mean besides the fact that I'm less than half your age and I work here? Or the fact that my name is Agent Anna Paige? Did you miss anything else… dear?" Tony's smile melted away and left a very uncomfortable look in its wake.

"Ah, nice to meet you, miss. This is-"

"Agents McGee and David."

"Dah-veed!" the girl snapped automatically.

"That's what she said, Ziva," McGee whispered to her.

"Oh."

"Well, if you'll just follow me, I'll take you to meet the rest of the BAU team. Gina, would you bring the photo up when it's done printing for me?" She nodded and I lead the NCIS team up the stairs and into the conference room so that they could meet the BAU team. Wow. That room is about to get _very_ crowded. I was right, of course, because when the four of us walked into the room, I saw Morgan and Rossi seating with Hotch and talking about the case and I saw Reid standing next to Emily, talking about their child; or, rather, unborn child. As soon as we stepped into the room, all of the other BAU teammates turned to face us, creating an awkward silence.

"So… this is Tony DiNozzo, Ziva David, and Tim McGee," I started. "You three, that's Emily Prentiss and Spencer Reid, Aaron Hotchner, Dave Rossi and Derek Morgan. You'll meet out tech analysts Penelope Garcia later." The two teams looked each other up and down and nodded to one another. I on the other hand, just shook my head. _Adults._

"Uh, Agent Hotchner-" Tony began.

"Hotch," Reid, Morgan, Rossi, Emily, Hotch and I all said at once.

"Hotch. If you don't mind me getting to the point here, what do you have for us?"

"Well, not too much."

"But we do know one thing!" Reid added quickly after Hotch spoke.

"Reid, you know a lot of things… which is obviously more than one," I commented, earning me a glare from my short haired half-brother.

"What _we all know _is that out Unsub is very dangerous-"

"As most Unsub are-" Ziva put in.

"And we believe that our team should come to D.C and help your NCIS team." The room fell silent once more and we all watched as Tony, the Senior Field Agent, started to nod in understanding.

"Get your go-bags. We're off to D.C." I smiled in triumph towards Reid, since I get to go to D.C anyway, even though he hadn't wanted me to this morning. WINNER!

As we all stepped out of the not so large conference room, I headed Ziva ask McGee quietly, "What is an Unsub?"

"You don't know what an Unsub is yet you know they are all dangerous? Uh. Well, it's an unknown suspect."

"Oh." With a very Gibbs-like smile **(AN: though Anna doesn't know how he smiles yet!)** I walked out of the room and into the real world.


	2. Two Peas in a Pod

**AN: Morgan: Okay, spill.**

**Nadia: *Sighs* She is in her room-**

**Reid: You could have just said that!**

**Nadia: I wasn't finished talking, Reid. As I was saying, she's in her room writing me an essay on what she did wrong and how she must fix it and how she will never do it again.**

**Morgan: Ooo… well that sucks for her! Enjoy the chapter, because I sure did. **

**Morgan/Reid/Nadia: Review when you done reading please!**

Sulking, I followed Hotch and Tony into the bullpen of NCIS headquarters. Let me tell you something right this very moment; Tony DiNozzo is the most obnoxious and annoying man who ever walked this planet! And that's saying something, considering I live with Reid. For the lovely hour long drive from Quantico to D.C, I got stuck in the car with Reid, Tony, Morgan and Garcia. The other three NCIS agents were in the other two cars, filled with the rest of my team, leading them to headquarters. It would have been perfectly fine if it was just Morgan, Garcia, Reid and myself because we have ridden in a car together before and we are all used to each other's banter, but NO! We just _had_ to have Tony DiNozzo ride with us. Whenever one of us said something to the other, Tony would worm his way into the conversation and say something stupid about a movie and then babble on like an idiot for another five minutes! I swear, twenty minutes into the ride, I was surprised Morgan hadn't driven off the road! If it wasn't for the fact that I was sandwiched between Reid and Garcia, I would have jumped out to get away from him! Eventually, Morgan had begun to play the silent game- to which Tony lost miserably- Garcia put in both her headphones and I laid my head on Reid's boney shoulder, my head beginning to pound in my skull. Reid had then proceeded to try and shut DiNozzo up, to absolutely no avail. So for forty more minutes we listen to him and his absurd behavior- or shall I say five year old behavior.

When we finally arrived, we all practically ran from the car, only to be followed by a question asking and imitating DiNozzo into the elevator, where we meet up with everyone else. Hotch and I had decided it would be best if we meet with the team leader and director of NCIS. Tony, the Senior Field Agent, said it was his job to come, too, and was also followed by his partner, Ziva, my most-of-the-time partner, Morgan, and Reid. Tim took the liberty of showing Garcia where she will be working, which happened to be with the Gothic forensics analyst Abby, was showing Emily around, and then was going to take Rossi to meet Ducky- the medical examiner, and his lovely nick-name- to help get a victim profile going. But I _STILL_ got stuck with Tony DiNozzo. Just peachy.

As the elevator doors open, anyone in the bullpen could hear Tony saying, "And then I called him Bobby and she didn't get it! You get it though, right Annie?"

"It's Anna," I hissed back through clenched teeth.

"Right, but you get it, right? Come on. Robert Di Niro as Travis Bickle in _Taxi Driver? _'You talkin' to me? Are you talkin' to me?' You know, 'cause that's what this guy said in the elevator?" I rounded on him finally, making him stop abruptly because I blocked his path. The rest of the people who had ridden in the elevator with me and Tony stopped as well.

"No, DiNozzo, I don't know what you're talking about! You want to know why? _I _grew up in _England, _which is half way across the bloody world! I've never even heard of Robert Di Naro and I didn't really watch too many movies when I was _in_ England because I was in_ college! _So will you please shut you big, annoying, childish mouth for just one. Single. Moment?" Tony's eyes got very big at this point as he stared down at me. He didn't dare open his big mouth, especially since there were so many people now watching us. Slowly, I heard Reid come up behind me and put a hand on my shoulder, pulling me slightly away from Tony. With one last glare at the older NCIS agent, I followed my brother's lead and turned on the spot. Morgan, I noticed, had a smug look on his face and Hotch had a similar look, only with a small amount of pride shining through his small smirk. I just shrugged and followed them up the stairs to the second floor landing where two older men stood, waiting for our arrival. One, the older and taller one, I recognized as Gibbs and the other, a shorter African American man, was Leon Vance, Director of NCIS. Bellow us, people had gone back to work, along with Ziva. Tony seemed to be nursing his hurt ego. Ha. Male pride.

Gibbs and Vance lead us to Directors office silently and motioned for us to sit at a long table. Honestly, I felt like I was being interrogated by Gibbs because all he did was sit across from me and stared at me. Again, just peachy.

"Tell me," Vance began, breaking the awkward silence. "What made you decide to come down to D.C?"

"We felt, as a team, that this case was important and needed our assistance as soon as possible. And since we were already invited into the investigation, we came," Hotch told him simply. Vance nodded. From across the table, I noticed Gibbs lean back in his chair, cross his arms and sigh. I narrowed my eyes on the older man.

"What haven't you told us?" I asked him quietly. The other men in the room turned their heads and faced me and Gibbs, who just stared at each other.

With a smirk, he said, "The victims were kept by the killer for at least three days." His voice was gruff with age as he spoke the first words I had ever heard him speak.

"All of them?"

"All of them."

"Why didn't you mention this earlier?" Morgan asked.

Gibbs shrugged.

"They didn't think it was relevant," Reid said and I nodded, understanding Gibbs quickly.

"Ah, I'd say it's pretty relevant. It changes parts of the profile completely," Morgan argued.

"And how does such a small amount of information change your profile so completely?" asked Agent Gibbs.

"Before, we saw this unsub as being someone who had little to no contact with his victims and killed them because he saw them as representing someone in his life. Now that we know he kept his victims for a short period of time, it indicates that he not only knew the victims, but he believed the victims had wronged him in some sort of way. What other signs of torture did the victim's bodies sustain?" Reid asked.

"Besides the kill shot to the back of the head, execution style, all four victims, including Tobias, had anywhere between ten and fifteen stab wounds to the torso, restraint marks on the wrists and anckles, and they had burn and glass marks on their bodies."

"Agent Gibbs, where were the burn marks and the glass found?" Hotch asked. _Hotch, is that really relevant? Can't you see that he knew Tobias?_

"The glass was found in the face and in the eyes. The burn marks where found on the arms and legs."

"Weapon of choice for the burns?"

"Hotch, I think that's enough."

"Anna," Reid warned from beside me quietly.

"Dr. Reid, I see no harm in Agent Paige saying something about the line of questioning Agent Hotchner is taking. He was a lawyer," Vance offered. I raised an eyebrow at Reid, and noticed he, too, was a little shocked. Hotch, on the other hand, gave us all his stone-faced-Hotch-face. "Continue, Agent Paige and explain yourself."

"Beg pardon?"

"Paige, I think he wants you to tell Hotch what you were thinking," Morgan offered.

"Er… Well, I think it's pretty obvious that Agent Gibbs doesn't really want to talk about the victims in consideration that what happened to his friends Agent Fornell." Vance smiled, somewhat victoriously, and nodded. The room became very quiet and it seemed to get filled with testosterone. _Yeah, that's it. I'm surrounded by testosterone… and Reid. _

"Morgan, Reid, Paige and Agent Gibbs, would you mind giving Director Vance and I a moment?" Hotch asked, his voice dripping with a small amount of venom when he says Vance's name. Without a moment's hesitation, the three of us BAU agents leave the room, followed shortly by Gibbs who motions us to follow him back to the bullpen.

Only the way down, Gibbs turned on all of us and began to speak in a much faster tone than he had in the director's office, "I don't know how much you guys know about me, but I'll tell you right now I don't need help talking to Vance or your Agent Hotchner." He began to move down the stairs more and we followed.

"So is that it then? All we need to know about the case? Do you even _want _our help, Agent Gibbs?" I asked bravely. Being the only girl in the area does give one… female pride.

"And what is that supposed to mean, Agent Paige?"

"You were more than willing to give the information we needed after the fact that me came, but you were unwilling to allow the help of me and my agents while we talked to your superior. So, do you want our help on this case or not?"

Gibbs smirked and turn, "Come on."

When he was gone, I turned to my partner and my brother, "What the bloody hell was that all about?"

"He wanted proof that we were serious about the case?" Morgan said. _Well thanks for answering a question with a question, Morgan._

"Lovely." With a sigh I looked from Reid to Morgan; Morgan looked from me to Reid; and Reid looked at me with a look of announce. Morgan, being the smart man he was, nodded to the both of us and left to go find Emily to bring her back up to the bullpen. Reid said nothing. He just stared at me and crossed his arms. _Two can play at that game, Reid. _

"Rectene?" I asked. _Well?_

"Anna sum dicturus nisi semel, quia scio scire. Non potestis vis egerunt in NCIS hic BAU. Novi potest adultus agunt semper quoniam autem placet esse temptare nice hos. Scio te transiret per Difficile vite, et scio quia per eam et posside adsum vobis in auxilium, ut Solum DiNozzo nice NCIS et alter homines rudes."_ Anna, I am only going to say this once, because I know you know this. You can't act like you would at the BAU here at NCIS. I know you can act like an adult because you always do, but please, try to be nice to these people. I know you are going through a hard time in your life and I know you will get through it and I'm here to help you, just try to be nice to DiNozzo and the other NCIS people who are rude._

I sighed at his words, knowing he was right… again. "Denique Reid. Si enim laboramus DiNozzo, non novi quamdiu sensus meus manebit." _Fine, Reid. But if I have to work with DiNozzo, I do not know how long my sanity will last._

"I know. Me too." With a smile, we both make our way back into the bullpen. I notice Gibbs sitting at his desk, and Ziva, Tony, Morgan, Emily and McGee all standing around a flat screen TV. I walked over and saw what looked to be a crime lab on the screen. I watched as a tall female with black pig-tails pacing back in forth in the room. She seemed to be saying something, though I'm not sure what, and I watched as she stopped for some reason. I watched Garcia come out of an office in the corner and start talking to Abby quietly. They seem to be disagreeing over something and I can only guess what. Garcia is a… colorful person who loves the color pink and Abby is a… darker person who cares more for the color black, which I, too, prefer. I'm sure they'll find some common ground in their personality though… Or at least I _really _hope they do. As they continue to talk with each other, our group of eight turned into a group of ten when Rossi and Hotch joined us. The silence, which was slightly awkward, was broken by a phone call that came through one Gibbs desk.

"Gibbs… Where… Alright. We'll be there in fifteen." He hung up and turned to all of us, while saying, "A petty officer was just kidnapped from a museum. The kidnapper left her four year old daughter with a semi-photographic memory at the exhibit. Let's go."

"Wait," Hotch said, before anyone had moved to far. "Not all of us need to go there. I say we partner off, one NCIS agent with a BAU agent and then go from there." Gibbs considered this for an agonizing moment.

Nodding, he said, "Good idea. You make the pairs, since you know your team and have read the file on all of my agents."

"Right. Gibbs and I will work together since we are both of the team unit chiefs. Rossi, I want you working with Dr. Mallard and Palmer on victimology and a preliminary profile."

"I'm sure Ducky can keep you occupied if you finish," Tony interjected, earning glares from everyone else in the room.

"Garcia and Abby will work together and Emily, I want you down there with them and out of the field. David-"

"Ziva," she corrected.

"Ziva, you're with Morgan; Reid and McGee; DiNozzo and Paige."

"Alright, Team Ziva, Paige and my team will go to the crime scene," Gibbs commanded and head toward the elevator.

"Come on, partner," Tony said as he passed by me. I sighed.

"This is going to be a long day."

**AN: Nadia: Before I forget to tell ya'll, I don't own anything but Anna Maeve Paige and the story line… and some other peoples later!**

**Morgan/Reid: Review please!**


	3. Shaina

**AN: Morgan: You know, I think I'm okay with my partner.**

**Reid: Me too. McGee knows a lot about computers and I know a lot about everything else so we make a good team.**

**Nadia: Well, I'm glad.**

**Mel: Nadia, here's your essay…**

**Nadia: Good. Now do your actual job before I make Morgan kick you out.**

**Mel: *smiles* Enjoy the chapter and please review!**

"Come on, partner," Tony said as he passed by me. I sighed.

"This is going to be a long day." I followed Tony to the elevator and got in, to find him and Morgan arguing about who was going to drive. Ziva looked content with just listening and Hotch and Gibbs just looked annoyed with the childish banter.

"I'll drive the one car and you can drive the other," Morgan told him firmly.

"Agent Morgan, Gibbs is probably going to drive the other car. He _always_ drives," Tony argued.

"Well there's a first time for everything."

"Sure. You try telling that to Gibbs."

"Ah, Tony? Gibbs is in the elevator _with_ us. I just told him!"

"Uh, Morgan? He's not really going to believe you on that." I looked at Ziva at this point. We were the two who were ahead of the others and therefor had no way to bloke out there arguing. _Hmmm… there might be one way. _I glanced back at Ziva with a smile that she matched, which told me she had the same idea in her head.

As the elevator dinged and its doors slid open, Ziva and I turned, grabbed the keys from the two boys and said at the same time, "I'll drive," while walking away. I could just imagine the boys' faces as they quietly stood in the doorway of the elevator. I could hear them just breathing and looking back and forth between each other, obviously oblivious to the fact that we were leaving, like, _now._ I turned around as I walked and called out to the men who refused to move.

"Are you coming or what?" I asked, turning back around. It took them all a second to realize what I had said. Tony was the first to catch up with Ziva and I, followed shortly by the other three, and was also the first to argue our idea. _What a complete shocker that is._

"What a second, Annie-"

"_Anna!"_

"Anna. Are you even allowed to drive?"

"Well, let's see. Back in England, I started riding mopeds when I turned fourteen, two years before the legal age, and then I started driving a car at the age of fifteen, also two years before the driving age, and lastly, I got my license six months later, a few months before I came to America. I am also a Federal agent, which means my license can't be revoked because I was speeding or driving crazily to a crime scene or while in pursuit of a suspect. Therefore, yes. I am allowed to drive."

"But-"

"No buts. I'm driving… partner." With a smile I walked out of NCIS and into a parking lot full of cars that looked exactly the same. _Oh shit. Can't anything be easy in this place?_

… Ten Minutes Later, the Smithsonian Art Exhibit…

"You seriously call that driving?" Tony asked as soon as we stepped through the museum doors.

"Yes, yes I do," I told him, before showing my badge and stating my name to the officer in charge of closing off the crime scene.

"I wouldn't call it driving…"

"Oh? And why is that?"

"You were between driving like Ziva, which is completely insane, and driving like a normal person, which isn't insane at all. You drive like… like… Gibbs! You drive like Gibbs!"

"Is there a problem with the way I drive, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked from behind him.

"No boss! I-" Head slap by Gibbs. "Sorry boss."

"Good. Now I want you getting-"

"A statement from the witness. Got it." Tony fled from where we stood, leaving all of us with a small smirk in his scared back.

"Ziva, statements from everyone else with me. You three, do whatever it is you do." With a nod, we went off in our own directions. Hotch and I went one way and Morgan went the other, ready to observe the crowd and taking mental notes on them all.

"I thought you were an okay driver," Hotch whispered before walking off in a different direction. _Why thank you, Hotch._

…

"Anything?" Hotch asked once all of us, including the NCIS team, reconvened at one of the sides of the museum.

"No one saw or heard anything," Ziva said.

"The unsub was probably threating to hurt the child if the parents said or did anything that would attract attention," Morgan observed. "Tony, what have you got from the child?"

"Nothing. The kid won't talk to me."

"Well you don't really have an appealing attitude towards children. I mean, I didn't like you when I first met you," I told him honestly.

"Hey! Kids love me."

"No they don't."

"Yes they do!"

"No, they really don't Tony," Ziva butted in.

"Hotch, Gibbs, let me talk to the kid. I'll get her to talk."

"Alright, Paige. Here names Shaina, she's six years old and has a-"

"A semi-photographic memory. I know, Gibbs. _I_ have an eidetic memory." He nodded approvingly and I took it as a signal to go ahead. I turned and walked over to a bench that held a small child who was staring at a painting I recognized. I walked over to the child and sat down on the bench next to her.

"_Ginerva de' Benci _by Leonardo Di Vinci. He's one of my favorite painters, you know." The girl only nodded meekly at me. "My names Anna. What's yours?"

"Shaina."

"Shaina, meaning beautiful in Hebrew." The girl smiles at this and turns her brilliant electric green eyes on me.

"Anna, meaning gracious in Hebrew."

"That's right."

"Anna, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure you can! Go right ahead and ask."

"Why are you talking to me?" I looked back down at the small child, my brow knit in confusion. I moved and knelt down in front of her, taking her tiny hands in mine.

"What do you mean by that?"

"My mommy and daddy got taken and you're sitting here talking to me. Why are you talking to me and not finding my mommy and daddy?" She had tears pooling in her eyes.

"Darling, you talking to me is going to help me find your mummy and daddy, okay? Don't cry, my dear. We'll find them."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, of course. Listen, I've heard you have an amazing memory, am I right?" She nodded again. "Excellent. You see, I have a good memory, too, and so I know that you can help me know what you saw because I'm willing to bet that you remember everything you saw, correct?"

"Yeah."

"Could we try something to help you remember what you saw then?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. Darling, I want you to close your eyes and think back to when you walked into the museum. What did you see? What did you hear?"

"I see a lot of people and a lot of pieces of art. I see my mommy looking all around and my daddy picked me up."

"What was your mum looking at?"

"I don't know. Maybe the art?"

"Look around, darling. Do you see anyone looking at your mum or your dad?"

"I see… I see him! Anna I see him! He's looking at me and daddy! Anna, help me!"

"Shh, shh, shh. Shaina, I'm right here, I'm right here." She grabbed my hand and held it tightly as I gave her her next set of instructions. "Shaina, skip forward in time to when you're looking at the _de' Benci. _What are your mum and dad doing now?"

"My mommy's looking at the painting."

"Where's your dad?"

"He just went off to go to the bathroom."

"Okay. What do you hear around you?"

"People laughing and talking about what they see. My mommy is smiling at the art and then daddy comes up and starts talking to her."

"What's he saying?"

"I don't know but then she stopped smiling. I looked around and- and he's there, again! Anna! He's there! Help me!"

"Shh, Shaina. I'm right here. Leave that place and, I need you to be brave for this, go to the last time you saw your mum and dad."

"Okay…"

"Darling, where are you?"

"We came back here one more time to see the_ de' Benci_. Mommy said it was her favorite."

"And what did your mum do when she came over to the painting?"

"She had been carrying me so she put me down on the bench and walked over to the painting."

"Where was your dad?"

"He was standing next to my mommy."

"What happened next, Shaina?"

"He… _he_ came over and started talking to mommy and daddy. They looked at me and then they followed the man. I wanted to follow but I…"

"No. No don't follow him, darling. You don't have to follow him."

"I _couldn't _follow him. I was too scared to." She began to cry and so I pulled her into a hug and rocked her back and forth like my mum used to do with me.

"Shh… Shaina, you did great. And you know what?"

"Hmmm?"

"You don't have to go through that again. No one has to ask you anymore of those questions, okay?" She nodded. "Good. There is one more thing you can do for me, if you want, but you don't have to, alright?"

"Will it help find my mommy and daddy?"

"It might…"

"Then I'll do it."

"Okay. But don't worry about that now. Just relax and we can work on that when we get to headquarters." Shaina nodded against my chest as I picked her up and rested her on my hip. She curled into my side, tired from her ordeal and rested her small head on my shoulder. We walked back over to my coworkers on the case.

"Paige, did you get her to talk?" Hotch asked quietly to me, once we had arrived, as to not wake the now sleeping Shaina.

"Yeah. She's completely traumatized."

"So she didn't remember anything?" Morgan asked.

"I didn't say that. What I'm saying is that she is terrified of the sick son of a bitch that took her mum and dad and she can't forget any of it."

"So you know the whole story," Tony concluded.

"Mostly, yes. I know that she got a good look at the unsub so when we get back to headquarters and she wakes up, I'll sit with her while she talks with a sketch artist."

"Good. Ziva, drive Hotch and Morgan back to headquarters. Tony and Paige, I'll drive you two back over," Gibbs stated authoritatively.

"Have a fun drive," Tony said before running off to follow Gibbs. I gave them a confused look but Hotch just shook his head, so I went to follow DiNozzo.

"Am I that bad of a driver?" I heard Ziva ask behind me.

"Yes," came to gruff replies.

_For once, Tony might be right. Have fun boys!_

… Back at NCIS Headquarters…

When we got back to headquarters, everyone was everywhere doing everything at once. And the funny thing was I had no idea why! Shaina, who had awakened on the way here, seemed a little frightened with everything that was going on and how loud it was. I felt her arms tighten around my neck as we stepped onto the elevator. As soon as the elevator began to move, however, Tony shifted his position and turned the elevator off. Shaina seemed to have a small fear of getting stuck in elevators, because she gave small whimper of fear and buried her face in the crock of my neck.

"Nice going, Tony. Scare the poor child more, why don't you!" I exclaimed at my 'partner'.

"Well, I didn't know she was afraid of being stuck in an elevator," he retorted, taking a step closer to me.

"What child isn't? Agents Morgan and Reid are still scared about it, too! You see, this is why kids don't like you," I said back, also taking a step toward him.

"Kids love me." Another step.

"Oh really? Hey, Shaina, do _you _like Agent DiNozzo?"

"Enough! You two can save it for Ducky!" Gibbs yelled. I gave Tony one last glare before I stepped away from him. Gibbs turned to Tony and asked, "Now, why did you stop my elevator, DiNozzo?"

"I wanted to know what was going on with everyone, boss."

"I don't know. I was going to go to my desk and find out!"

"Right. Sorry boss." Gibbs head slapped the idiot again.

"You should be. Anything else ya'd like to add?"

"Maybe we could go to Abby to find out what happened?"

"And get tackled by her in the process? I don't think so. Flip the switch." Tony complied and we finally made our way up to the bullpen. The scene in here was no different from that of the atrium. I noticed that Ziva, Morgan and Hotch had already arrived- _Yeah, shocker there_- and were working with the rest of the team, including Emily, who had also made the trip up here. As soon as Emily saw me, she broke off from her conversation with Reid and walked over to me and Shaina.

"Anna, you're alright!" she said as she gave me an awkward hug because of Shaina.

"Of course I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You haven't heard?"

"No. What happened?"

"I'll explain it to her, Em. You take Shaina down to Abby's lab and get to that sketch for the media," Reid said from behind Emily. She nodded as I set Shaina down. Emily took the six-year-olds hand and made her way to the elevator. As soon as they were gone, Reid also pulled me into a strong hug that was surprisingly strong for a man of his muscle mass, or lack of, in this case.

"Reid, I can't… breathe!" I gasped.

"Sorry," he said as he let go. "I'm just thought you were…"

"Thought I was what?"

"Died."

"I beg your pardon?"

"The section of the Smithsonian where you were blew up, Anna. There was a note left by the bomber that said if we wanted Shaina's parents back, we needed to step out of the investigation."

"Why didn't you just call me, Reid?"

"Because the note was addressed to me and you were mentioned in it." I could only stare blankly at my brother, especially after what he said next.

"It said you were already died."


	4. Jasper

**Nadia: Guys, I'm going to ask this only one more time: did you or did you not hide my computer and charger?**

**Mel: I didn't do it!**

**Nadia: I know. Boys?**

**Morgan: Well, you see, we took your charger first, as just a joke, and then we lost it.**

**Reid: But we've found it! We just hide your computer to cover it up.**

**Garcia: That wasn't nice, guys… Reviewing's nice.**

_"Why didn't you just call me, Reid?"_

"_Because the note was addressed to me and you were mentioned in it." I could only stare blankly at my brother, especially after what he said next. "It said you were already died."_

I can't believe this! I have already almost been killed twice in the past year, and now a third time gets added to the mix? Lovely. Absolutely Lovely. Now another mass killer is out there somewhere trying to kill me, too! Why is my hate list getting so long? Of this I am dying to know; figuratively.

"Well, I am obviously not died. Do we have any leads on the bomber?"

"Abby's looking for prints on the note as we speak."

"I highly doubt she'll find anything. This guy, assuming it is a guy from Shaina's description, is organized and highly intelligent."

"I know. That's why we've been looking into your background to find out if anyone could have a grudge against you. Can you think of anyone?"

"You mean besides Ian, Aiden, Lila, Jasper, Liam, Ashley, Doyle, Anderson, Strauss, and possible Leon Vance? Nope. Can't think of anyone," I say sarcastically while shaking my head.

"Hmm. That's a lot of people. Luckily most are either dead or in jail." As if on cue, McGee walked over to us.

"Ah, sorry to interrupt but you have a call on line one, Reid," he said.

"Okay, thanks." All three of us walked back over to the rest of the two teams and crowded around a phone on McGee's desk. As Reid went to answer the phone, I moved to stand between my "ex-partner" Morgan and my new partner Tony.

Tony, being the idiot he is, turned his head and said, "I'm beginning to think you're going to be hard to work with, Ann-a." I just glared daggers at him and let Morgan speak. For now.

"Watch it, DiNozzo or you'll be the one who will be hard to work with because of your body cast," he snarled.

"Yes, sir, Mr. Morgan, sir!" Tony joked with a fake salute.

"Okay, okay, that's enough from the both of you!" I hissed when Morgan tried to advance on Tony. "Tony, do us all a great big favor and shut up for once in your long forty years. Morgan, cool down. I can take care of Tony on my own." They both nodded and huffed while turning back to the phone call. Huh, alpha males. I too, turned to face Reid as his conversation on the phone ended. Pity. If the alpha male fight hadn't occurred then maybe I would have heard what the person on the other line had said. Ah well, getting told what Reid had just been talking about is second best to hearing it for myself.

"Who was it and what did they say?" Ziva asked as soon as the phone hit the receiver.

"That was the Director of the Department of Corrections Facility. Two high risk inmates got out and a male has gone missing from the states."

"Who are the inmates that escaped?" asked McGee.

"SSA's Elle Greenaway and Ashley Seaver and the man that went missing is Ex-FBI agent Jason Gideon."

"Do you know them personally, agents?" Gibbs asked as he came into the bullpen, coffee in hand.

"Agent Greenaway left the team a few years ago because she killed a man in cold blood. Agent Seaver tried to kill Agent Prentiss and the rest of us and aided the mass murder Valhalla, aka Ian Doyle," Hotch explained.

"Jason Gideon was one of the founders of the BAU and worked with the team before Anna and I came," Rossi finished.

"Do you think it's possible for Ashley or Elle to have done the bombing and the killings and the kidnapping and maybe even taken Jason?" I asked.

"It's much more probable then possible," Reid answered.

"When did they escape?"

"Sometime between the early to late morning today."

"So they must have had an accomplice," I conclude as the elevator doors open and Abby comes running out, trailed by Garcia carrying Shaina and Emily trying to keep up with the other two non-pregnant women.

"Guys, guys, guys!" Abby called as she ran.

"What have you got, Abbs?" Gibbs asked the Goth.

"Well, boss man number two, Abby _and I _have found a print on the note."

"Whose was it?"

"We got a match through AFFIS, boss man number one."

"That's great, Abby, now whose print was it?" Ziva asked.

"Now hold your horses, ninja chick. We're getting there."

"Baby girl," Morgan warned.

"Sorry, hot stuff. Getting to the facts. Hey, did you guys know-"

"Okay, I'll tell them," Emily finally said, getting quite annoyed. "The print matched a Jasper Davis of Washington, D.C."

"Didn't you say there was a Jasper who might have a grudge against you?"

"Yes, Reid, I did. He was an American exchange student at my college in England. He was also there for some swimming thing and tried to use that to impress me, which didn't really work, and I turned him down, quite bluntly. For about a month he started stalking me until I confronted him and we got into a fight, resulting in me breaking his nose."

"Okay, then."

"Do we have an address?" Rossi put in.

"Yeah, 224 Chesnutt Avenue."

"Alright, I say we split up. Teams Hotch and Ziva go to Jasper's house; Emily and I and team McGee will go to the bomb site and then go to Shaina's house. Garcia, do a background check on Will Davis and see how he might connect to Shaina's parents, Elle and Ashley. Abby, run forensics on anything you can find at the museum. Anna and Tony, stay here with Shaina and try not to do anything stupid."

"Me? Do something stupid? Why I'm insulted, Dave!" I joked, while taking Shaina from Garcia. Everyone else was piling into the elevator.

"Hey, boss, I understand why she has to stay here, but why do I have to?" Tony whined.

"Because you're her partner." With that, the elevator doors closed, along with the matter at hand.

I decided that while the team was gone I was going to start sketching what the unsub might look like with Shaina. She told me that he had a semi-high forehead, bushy eyebrows, a long nose and full lips. To further help with identification, she told me he had a mustache, black hair, was approximately six foot and African American. We quickly put out an APB for the man and I contacted the media and gave them the photo so that they could put it on the five o'clock news broadcast. _Hopefully this is it._

_Hopefully._

… At the Davis Residence…

When the one car arrived at the house, the two teams of two split, team Hotch covering the front and team Ziva covering the back. Hotch went to the left of the front door and grabbed the handle, waiting for the nod from Gibbs. Gibbs, on the other hand, was listening to his earpiece for the okay from Ziva. When he heard her whispered _ready_, he gave a sharp nod and Hotch forced open the door. They announced themselves as they walked down a narrow hallway, clearing rooms as they went. Finally, they came to a room with a closed door halfway through the house, meeting up with Ziva and Morgan. The room, which they guessed to be a bedroom, was locked, so Morgan kicked down the door and announced himself. As they stormed the room, they saw a guy about twenty years of age typing on his computer. He seemed completely unfazed by the fact that his door had been knocked down. On second thought, he seemed utterly oblivious. Finally, he just happened to look up from his laptop and saw all of the agents in his bedroom. Silently he put his hands up and stood facing the agents.

"Put your hands on your head," Ziva commanded. The man didn't move a muscle.

"Put your hands on your head, Mr. Davis!" Hotch yelled. Cautiously, the man moved his hands in front of him and began signing.

"He says he's deaf," Gibbs translated putting his gun away. "Jasper Davis?" he asked whilst signing back.

~Yes. Who are you?~

~Agent Gibbs of NCIS. The rest of us are NCIS and FBI.~

~NCIS? FBI? What are you doing here?~

~Will Davis, you are under arrest for the murders of Petty Officers Liliana Cruz, Ron Walters, and Hanna West, FBI Agent Farnell and the kidnapping of Petty Officer Cali Jones and her husband Dorian Jones and the reckless endangerment of a child.~

~Child? What child?~

~The child of the Jones', Shaina.~ With that, Jasper was handcuffed and hauled off to the awaiting car.

…

"Anna!" someone called as soon as Tony and I heard the elevator door ding and slide open. He and I had been talking about the case as Shaina slept, trying to figure out if Jasper fit the profile.

"Oh, no. What did I do _this _time?" I asked myself with a sigh.

"Does this happen a lot or something?"

"Define a lot."

"Anna, why didn't you tell us that Jasper was deaf?" Morgan asked, obviously upset.

"I didn't know he _was_ deaf," I answered honestly.

"How could you not know? You knew him," Ziva snapped, also upset.

"Yes, well it is possible that he became deaf from some freak accident or from swimming too much. You can't blame me for that." Morgan sighed, still aggravated. "Where is he? I'll talk to him."

"Interrogation room one," Ziva said. I nodded and went to leave when Tony's voice drifted to my ears.

"You sign?"

"Yes, Tony. I speak English, Latin, Spanish, French, Russian, German, Polish, Arabic and ESL."

"ESL? Isn't that some sort of bank?"

_Oh Lord, save me now. _"No, it stands for English Sign Language. Now if you'll excuse me." I turned back around and head for the stairs, seeing as I was getting sick of the elevator. I heard Tony follow and silently show me the way to the observation room where I met up with Hotch and Gibbs.

"So, what's the plan?" Tony asked. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"Gibbs was going to go in and talk to Jasper, or rather sign to Jasper," Hotch asked.

"And how were you going to know what he was saying, Hotch? Why don't I go talk to him, since he knows who I am and is more likely to talk for me, and Gibbs can stay here and translate." Reluctantly, Hotch and Gibbs nodded in approval and I left for the interrogation room.

~Hello, Mr. Davis.~ I signed as soon as I had gotten into the room.

~Anna Paige?~ _I thought you would recognize me._

~Yes, but I'm not here for a friendly conversation. Why did you kill all of those people?~

~I honestly don't know who those Petty Officers where, I swear.~

~Then why was your fingerprint on a letter at the site of a bombing?~ His head dropped in defeat. _Just as I remembered you. You give up right when the going gets tough, Jasper._

~I didn't plant the bomb.~

~Tell us who did and we can make a deal.~

~I don't know, okay? The only thing that I was supposed to do was put down the note. They paid me eighteen hundred dollars for it.~

~Who?~

~I don't know.~

~Did this person go by any name?~

~TG. He told me only the phone to call him TG.~

~Alright, that's good to know. Do you know where he took the Jones'?~

~No.~

~Alright. Hold on one minute.~ I stood and walked from Interrogation to Observation quickly.

"I don't think he did this."

"What makes you so sure?" asked Gibbs.

"He can't lie worth a shit, that's what. I think the unsubs using him as bait. And I think we should keep an eye on him."

"Do it. You and DiNozzo take him home and stay there."

"Got it." Tony and I left to go collect Jasper and then head to his house for even more babysitting. _Oh how fun it is to babysit people._

…

We quickly and quietly got Jasper out of the building and into the parking lot. All was going smoothly, until Tony forgot where the car was and we ended up walking around for five minutes.

"I can't believe you forgot where the car was," I said when we finally found it.

"Yeah, shut up." I smirked. Same old Tony. Just as we were opening the doors to the car, gunshots fired. I signed for Jasper to stay down as Tony and I tried to find the source of the shooting. But, just as suddenly as it had begun, the shots stopped and a tall man with dark skin and a ski mask walked around the car, a gun to Shaina's head.

"Drop the gun!" I yelled.

"Drop yours or she gets it!" he yelled back.

"Leon?" Tony asked from behind me.

"Drop the gun!" he repeated, gripping Shaina even tighter. Without a second choice, we did as we were told. Vance roughly through Shaina on the ground, whom I went to, as Jasper and Tony were knocked out by Leon, though I had no clue. I quietly old Shaina to run back inside and hide as Vance came over to where I now stood. He advanced on me, trying to knock me out to but I dodged left and round housed him the gut. He hocked left then right, missing both time, and I crescent kicked him to the ground, where he lay motionless, or so I thought, as soon as I turned my back on him, he jumped up and got me in a sleeper hold. I escaped with little breath and was focusing on regaining it when Vance punched me in the face, disorienting me. In the state I was in, I had no time to register or react to him pulling out his gun and hitting me with the it's gun butt.

And then it all went black.


	5. Trouble? What's Trouble?

**AN: Nadia: Never touch my computer aga-**

**Morgan: Baby Girl! When did you show up?**

**Mel: She came to take you to work, Mr. Junior Boss Man, sir!**

**Reid: What about me?**

**Nadia: Sorry, Junior G-Man, you're stuck introducing.**

**Reid:*sighs* Oh course. Enjoy the chapter, readers, and if you want this lovely story to continue, R-E-V-I-E-W!... or I will seriously run away. Forever.**

I awoke to find my arms and legs bound- again- but in a very different manner than before. Now, I sat on the ground with my wrist bond together, a length connecting them to a pole where Tony and Jaspers ropes were also held, and my ankles were tied freely in front of me. Although my head was throbbing like there was a thunderstorm raging inside of it, I turned my head to both sides to see that Jasper was just barely coming to and Tony was already awake, surveying the area.

"Tony," I whispered gruffly through my extremely dry throat. Never the less, Tony turned towards me.

"Oh, good. You're awake."

"Do I detect doubt in that tone?" I asked with disbelief.

"Well, it's just… that bump on your head was pretty bad, and you've got a nice shiner coming though."

"A _what?"_

"A shiner. You know, a black eye."

"No, I didn't know that, Tony," I said, anger growing in my voice.

"Geez, Anna, no need to be so mean to Tony," came a voice from behind me. I turned my head to see none other than Jasper, _speaking _his mind, as he always did.

"Jasper…"

"Anna…" he said, much like one would if under the effects of Felix Felicis.

"Dude, I thought you couldn't talk or hear!" Tony said with disbelief oozing from every syllable.

"Oh, I ah… lip read?"

"You're lying, Jasper," I said in an almost sing-song voice. _Note to self: spend less time with Garcia and more time with Hotch. And stop talking like Garcia. And more like Hotch. Sort of._

"Okay, so I never lost my hearing, it's just I didn't really want to talk to NCIS or the FBI."

I turned back to Tony and asked, "Why do people never want to talk to us?" He shrugged. "Right, getting back to the matter at hand. Escape."

"How in the hell of it do you intend on getting out of here? These bonds may only be rope, but good luck slipping your hands out of the small loops without breaking your hands off first."

"Well, Tony, there this thing called mistake two. Mistake one was when you whistled at me. Mistake two was Leon thinking I didn't have a secondary weapon with me."

"Ah… Elaboration? I don't see another weapon on your person," Jasper indicated.

"Yeah, well most people don't because it's hidden." Before the two males decided to ask any more questions, I curled my legs under me so that I could reach my high heels. With all my strength, which happens to be a lot, I pulled on my left heal until it became loos. Then, I carefully wiggled it off to reveal a very sharp, one and a half inch long blade. I moved my legs from under me and got into a more comfortable position to cut my bounds. Unfortunately, one of our captors decided to take that very minute to walk down the wooden stairs to the basement we were in and turn on the blinding light. When my eyes finally adjusted, I noticed it wasn't Leon or Ashley- whom I now assumed were working together- but an average height woman with shoulder length brown straight hair and olive skin. She sulked down the stairs like she was the high queen coming to gleefully hang one of her stubborn subjects. She did a full circle around us and stopped right in front of Tony.

"Your Agent DiNozzo, I take it?" she asked, feigning sweetness. Tony merely nodded.

"What do you want?" I asked, already sick of this witch.

"Shut up," she said sharply, turning from Tony, to me and back again. Tony gave a heartless, rueful smile to her as their eyes locked.

"I guess you know my name. How about telling me yours?"

"Oh I think you already know it." She stepped back and crossed her arms, staring at us. Obviously, she had gotten word from Leon that we knew her name, and she expected us to tell her what it was.

_Names, names, names… what names had we come across today? There was Anderson and Noel, but it wasn't one of them… The NCIS team and my Team, but it wasn't one of us… the Jones', but Karen was a blonde and Robert was a male… There were all the people who had a grudge against me, but we can just skip them… and then there was "SSA Elle Greenaway and Ashley Seaver."_

"Elle Greenaway," I spat at the woman.

"Correct! And you know what your prize is?"

"I'm sorry… my prize?"

"Yes, your prize."

"I've no idea."

"Jason Gideon." With that, Elle left the room and returned seconds later with a man who looked to be about Rossi's age. He had a blindfold on, but otherwise seemed unharmed. She pushed him to a pole that was about ten feet from where we all sat and tied his hands and feet like the three of ours were. Elle swiftly removed the blindfold and left without another word. Just before she left, she hit the lights, plunging us into darkness once more. Again, I let my eyes adjusted before speaking.

"Alright, so let's think. Elle wouldn't have brought you down here, Gideon, if Leon had not told her to, and Leon wouldn't have told her to unless he was starting to panic," as I said this, I began to cut my bonds. "Leon wouldn't start to panic unless he knew people had found us out, which wouldn't have happened unless the team somehow figured out where we were pretty much straight away, which wouldn't have happened unless Shaina got back inside the NCIS building, meaning she's safe for the time being." By now I was cutting the last bit of the bonds on my ankles.

"You got all that from Elle bringing Gideon down?" Jasper asked, a little taken aback.

"Yes, it's called profiling."

"You can profile? How old are you and who did you learn such a thing from?" a deep male voice asked, and I could only guess it was Jason Gideon's.

"Yes; sixteen, almost seventeen; Reid," I answered, handing the blade to Tony as I moved to try and look for some weapons we could use.

"You know Agent Reid? He was my protégé."

"So I've heard, but that's a story for another time. First we plan our escape." Just as the words left my mouth, two gun shots rang out, causing me to jump.

"What was that?" Jasper asked, his voice an octave higher than before.

"Gunshots," Tony said, standing and handing the blade to Jasper.

"Damn it! I can't believe he actually killed them!" I stage whispered angrily.

"Them? Them who?"

"Karen and Robert Jones."

"How do you know he didn't kill Elle and Ashley?"

"Because he needs them," Gideon began. "Like Miss…"

"Agent Paige."

"Like Agent Paige said earlier, Leon is panicking. He's not about to kill the two people that could potentially help him escape."

"Right." The room fell silent as Jasper scrambled to his feet and walked over to Gideon, giving him the blade next. Gideon got straight to work at hacking away the rope that help his wrists together while Jasper moved to help us look for more potential weapons. Eventually, I shook my head in the darkness.

"This is getting us nowhere. Leon was smart, he wouldn't leave anything down here that we could use as a weapon against him. We're on our own."

"I agree," said Gideon who had come to stand next to me and Tony. He handed me back my blade and I took it gratefully.

"We've got to move silently and quickly so we can us some sort of guerilla warfare against them," suggested Jasper.

"Right. We flank them from the back and try our best."

"Wait. That's it? We go up and take three agents who have guns and backups single handedly?" Tony asked.

"Yes," Gideon answered with a sigh. Tony returned the sigh to us all.

"Fine, but we go without shoes."

"Good idea." We all slipped of our shoes and socks- so we don't slip around- and Tony led us up the stairs. When he got to the top, he jiggled the handle a bit and swore under his breath.

"What?" Jasper asked from behind me.

"It's locked!"

I sighed and told Tony and Gideon, "Move," before kneeling in front of the door and began to pick the lock.

"You know how to pick a lock?" Gideon asked.

"I wasn't always a good girl," I replied with a smirk.

…

As soon as Shaina had run into the NCIS bullpen, recanted her story to the teams, and they had figured out it was Vance who was responsible for all of this, they had split into groups of two or three to go search for Vance, Ashley and Elle in the places he owned. Gibbs and Hotch headed to his house in D.C; Morgan, McGee and Rossi went to his lake house-which seemed the most likely place, at the moment; and Reid and Ziva and Ziva had left for the farthest place, Vance's coastal summer house. The rest of the teams had stayed back, hoping beyond hope that Garcia's findings had been correct.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Ziva asked wirily.

"Yes, I'm sure. Ziva, I have a map of the area imprinted into my brain. And I would say this is the place," Reid said, exasperated.

"But how are we to be sure?" Reid opened his mouth to reply when gunshots- two to be exact- sounded from the large coastal house that the two had just arrive at. It had taken them about half an hour, even with Ziva's driving, and Reid suspected it had taken far less for Vance to do, because even though Reid knew all of the roads in D.C, some of the helpful back roads might not have been on the map he had studied.

"That's how," Reid said quietly, but Ziva couldn't have heard him, for she was already halfway out the door, gun drawn. Reid didn't necessarily know how this was going to play out, seeing as they had no plan what so ever, but he exited the car none the less. The two agents ran up to the door, posted on opposite sides, and waited. Ziva could hear faint voices inside but it was just too far away to make out what they were saying. However, she knew there were three voices and that there was little time left to get in there and end this. It was time to bring down the TG Killer for good. She nodded to Reid, and when he nodded back in understanding, she kicked down the door and entered.

"NCIS!" Ziva shouted.

"And FBI!" Reid added a moment later. They stormed the first room, only to go down a short hallway into a sitting room where Elle, Ashley and Vance stood over the bodies of Karen and Robert. Thought the two agents were relieved to see that their friends were unharmed, it went without saying that it was a shock to find the Jones' with a bullet to the skull.

"Drop the gun, Leon," Ziva said calmly, yet forcefully.

"Stay out of this, David. You too, Agent."

"Of all people, you would know the best that we can't do that," Reid told him.

"Fine, but you asked for it. NOW!" Leon yelled and his two girls upholstered their guns and pointed them at Reid and Ziva. Leon, on the other hand, stepped back and sought cover behind a wall.

"Hello again, Reid," Ashley said in her snake like voice. "Glad your eye isn't black anymore."

"Too bad, though. Then we'd have two things in common," Elle added.

"Yeah, we'd have all been profilers with a black body part. Me an eye, and you two a heart," Reid spat. He wanted nothing to do with these two messed up woman any longer than he already had.

"Shut up."

"Get on with it!" Vance ordered. The two girls looked at each other for a moment, before re-aiming and shooting just wide of the other two. Vance had told them to kill right away, but the girls wanted a little more fun than that with their former team mate. As soon as the first shot was fired, the four people left in the room ducked behind things for cover and began their shoot out. The girls, having more ammunition, fired first and more often than the other two. Reid, even though he happened to be a lousy shot, kept firing on them- more often than Ziva did, he noticed- until he began to run low as well, realizing he had but one bullet left. He looked at Ziva from the other side of the space they had between the large room. She was crouched behind a recliner and he a sofa, bullets still coming from the other end of the room.

"What are you doing?" Reid asked her quietly in Arabic, so that neither Elle nor Ashley could understand them.

"Waiting for them to think they've shot us or for them to stop shooting."

"And you think that's going to work?"

"They want us dead, Reid. They will. I've been in this situation before."

He smiled faintly at being called Reid and added, "Alright. I trust you." And so, they waited. Sure enough when Elle and Ashley realized that they were getting no return fire, they stopped and stood. Silently, the two agents counted to three and jumped up. Unfortunately, they had not been prepared for a return fire then as well.

…

As soon as I had started working on unlocking the door, I heard shouting above and then everyone began talking. I paused for just a moment to try and hear what they were saying, but the next thing I knew, it was gunfire that I heard, not voices at all. Shakily, I fought against the door's lock, now more than ever wanting to be free and join the fight. But, lo and behold, the damn door did not want to open! And that's when the gunfire above stopped.

"Oh, God," I heard Jasper whisper.

"Shh!" Tony ordered him a second later, to which Gideon placed a hand over his mouth, asking silently for utter silence as he motioned towards the door, which I had just successfully unlocked with my small blade. We got ready and I silently opened the door. To my surprise, Leon stood with his back to us, watching what was going on in the other room from a safe distance. As the gunfire restarted, the four of us took on Vance. Left hocks, right hocks, crest ant kicks, palm heal, punches and more all came flying at Vance by Tony and Jasper that he had little time to recover and fell as the guns seceded once again, with cries of pain in the air. Without thinking, Gideon and I rounded the corner to be meet with a most unpleasant scene. On the ground lay Elle and Ashley, dead at last, and a crossed the room lay two things that made my blood run cold.

There lay Ziva and Reid, a bullet in both of them, bleeding heavily, and completely unconscious.


	6. To the hospital again

**AN: Nadia: So, I have been left to talk to all of you by my two lovely assistance because they have decided to leave. For now. Anyway, I have decided that **_**in the following chapters, I will not be writing the story in just Anna's POV! IT WILL BE CHANGING SO PAY ATTENTION! **_**Secondly, I would like to address my first review from**** sophievampiress****. You made my day when you reviewed! Uh, Reid and Ziva won't be getting together and it will be more of a friendship fic for those two. I don't know what you are confused about yet, unless it happens to be the plot, which I know is somewhat confusing so far, but it shall get easier to understand! Let me know if there's more to be clarified. PLEASE REVIEW! And I listen to Arms by Christina Perri over and over again, so I suggest you do the same.**

**Tony's POV:**

I can't believe this. Sure Anna got us out of the basement, but I almost wish she hadn't. Ziva, oh lovely Ziva, my partner, my friend, my… I just can't believe it. Ziva and that scrawny doctor are both on the ground, bleeding. Anna and Jason had been the first into the room, but it seems they were having difficulty understanding and comprehending what happened in this room. Jason was the first to act and was putting pressure on Doctor… Reid's shoulder. Anna noticed what Jason was doing and did the same to Ziva, putting pressure on her stomach. However, it seemed to be doing little. I ran to her side and put my hands over hers and pushed down even harder on poor Ziva's gunshot wound.

"Tony…" came a small whisper.

"Hey, Zi. I'm right here. Stay with me, alright? Stay with me," I told her as her eyes slide open.

"To… ny…" she whispered in pain.

"Shh… It's okay, Ziva. You're going to be okay, I promise." Ziva gave the smallest hint of a nod and re-closed her eyes.

"Where are the damn medics?" Anna yelled over her shoulder at Jasper. I can only guess that she had been watching the exchange between Ziva and myself. But, that could just be my mind think of only Ziva. Truthfully, she could just be terrified for her brothers' health, too.

Seconds later, though, to my upmost approval, four medics ran into the room, two going to Reid and ordering Jason to move and two coming over to Ziva, Anna and I, yelling at us to also move. _Mean people, I tell you._ But we listened, nevertheless, and back off so that the medics could work on my l- Ziva! So they could work on Ziva and save her life. For me. I mean, for Gibbs and Abby and McGee and Ducky. Gibbs hasn't quite given her permission to die yet, so… She better not.

"Tony." I turned to come face to face with Anna. Time had been sped up and everything had happened just so fast… I just noticed that everyone was gone except the four of us captives the two dead bodies and Leon- the bastard!

"Tony? Can you hear me?" Anna asked waving a hand in front of my face.

"Yeah, yeah I can."

"Good. We need to get out of here. The medics are taking Reid and Ziva to the Desert Palms Hospital and you need to drive, Because none of us actually know where that is and we need to get there NOW so can we please go and get a move on so we can call the teams and-"

"Whoa, slow down a bit," I told her, grabbing both her shoulders so that she was facing me and so she would stop moving. That's when I noticed tears gathering in her blue eyes. "You and I will go to the hospital, but you need to calm down, okay?" I asked softly. She nodded, looking away from me and wiping her bloody hands on her skirt.

"Okay, I just… we need to go," Anna said as calmly as she could, but her voice shook and she walked away from the situation at hand and went outside.

I sighed and turned to Jason. I opened my mouth to speak, but was cut off by the bastard. Aka, Leon Vance.

"In case you haven't noticed, DiNozzo, I can't really go to the hospital. How are you going to keep your pathetic promises?" I turned to him and walked over so that his face was only a few inches from my own.

"You actually think you have a right to speak, you pathetic, worthless bastard? I can't believe you right now. You've not only betrayed your country, but also your team, your family and ruined the lives of numerous others. And yet, you get the nerve to speak? That's one thing I will never understand about you, Leon," I said as I turned away from him, unable to even look at him. Instead, I faced Jason and asked what I had meant to a few minutes ago.

"Could you stay with him until the rest of the police get here?"

Jason nodded and said, "Of course. And I'll take Jasper to NCIS headquarters to get his statement. You go, and make sure Reid's okay for me."

"I'll call you when we know more."

"Thank you," Jason said sincerely.

"No, thank you," I said and went to walk away, but had a second thought, and turned to Leon. "Oh and another thing. Have fun talking to Gibbs." Leon's face turned to one of utter horror. I smirked and finally walked out of the house to go find Anna.

**Anna's POV:**

I can't believe it. This has got to be the… the… Well I don't know what number of time it is that I've had to go and sit in a hospital waiting room, waiting for the news of a loved one. Waiting, just _waiting_ in a bloody hospital, bleeding from you heart and pleading it will be okay… But, sometimes it's not okay. Sometimes your doctor comes out and tells you that someone you love… Someone you truly care about has only a few… a few measly hours to live. Or, or better yet, your too late and those few precious hours… Or those few precious minutes are gone. And the one you loves' life is… gone… forever and you feel your bleeding heart shatter and all the blood drains from your body and you feel hallow… Dead. But hell, you're not. Your standing in that damn hospital waiting room with your feet that refuse to move and the tears you just can't stop cascading down your cheeks; You fall to your knees asking the sky '_Why?', _to only get no answer in return. Only the open silence and all you can hear is that stupid clock that beats in tune with your shattered heart, and all you can do is watch as your brain shows you all the happy moments and the times you wish could take back, and you realize… You realize that beloved person of yours is truly, positively, antaganizingly and utterly gone from your life and they will never be there for you, never smile at you… Never BE there. How many times has this happened to me? How many times have I been in a hospital waiting room feeling those feelings, hurting that hurt, having that same eternal want and forgiveness? Once… twice… three times… more... the exact number I do not know. How many times have I come and sat or stood in a hospital waiting room?

"Who?" asked Tony from the driver's seat of the NCIS car we were both in. I hadn't realized it, but every word I had just thought had spilled out of my mouth and reached Tony's ears.

"I… There's so many… I…"

"Take it slow," Tony said smoothly. "It will help get some weight off your chest, and get rid of some of that fear you've got." I sighed a deep, chested sigh. _Breathe in, breathe out… breathe in, breathe out… okay. _

"I had many die before I was twelve, but one of my three hardest blows came two months after the day I turn the big one-two. S-she was my aunt, age forty-five, by the name of Teresa, time of birth: 7:09 p.m., time of death: midnight. Her work was invaded by a guy with a gun. She worked at a hospital, which was my first taste of bittersweet irony. The gunman shot my aunt Teresa. Some of her coworkers tried to save her, one of them called my mum and I over to see her, and the men she worked with took down the guy with the gun. When my mum and I got there, though, her doctor, who was her husband, told us she was gone. He killed himself a year later, right on Teresa's death anniversary."

"I'm so sorry," Tony whispered.

"I know… me too. But that's not the worst." I was sniffling now, tears sliding down my face and blurring my vision. I wiped them away quickly. I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe, but somehow the little strength I held was forced into telling the rest of my story. "I watched my mother die," I choked, tears sliding. "She… She was killed at the hands of a serial killer named Ian Weston. He was a doctor to my mother after she got into a car crash, was flipped several times and was left for dead. Ian was also my dad's brother, who all along was just working for a woman named Lila Archer. Lila wanted to inflict as much pain on Reid as she could, which ultimately meant bringing me here and almost murdering me twice in front of his very eyes. To do that, she caused my mum to get into a car crash and she forced me to watch as… as she deteriorated and… died." Sniffling, trying to breathe. I could no longer see in front of me because of all the tears. It had been so long since I had even thought about her death and to think! She would have died one year ago in just a few weeks. How stupid am i? I'm here telling a practical stranger, sobbing, something that I can barely think about; My own mother. What has become of me? "I learned later that she was being caused to die a slow and painful death. I was at her side when she took her last breath. I had long brown hair back then, with big glasses. But when JJ came she said that I needed to come with her, my appearance had to change. Anyway, that was the worst. My own mum, dying right before my eyes… It was almost a year ago, too. I'm almost seventeen, she died a week before I turned sixteen… yes, it's coming up."

"I can't imagine seeing my mother die."

"It's hard to live with." Tony sighs.

"Especially when you have an eidetic memory, such as you." A moment of silence that lasted half a life time.

"Yeah. The next person who died gave his life for me, you know. I never really knew him, but neither did Reid. He was our father-"

"Do you mean to tell me you're an orphan living with your brother who only has a mother?"

"No."

"Oh, good."

"No," I said with a mirthless laugh, "It isn't. We're both… orphans."

"Oh. I see."

"Oh, come off it…"

Tony sighed as we turned onto the road that lead to the hospital. "Do you want to finish?"

"Oddly, yes. My father was abducted by a different serial killer, Ian Doyle. More irony for the good old heart, isn't it? William, my father, worked for Doyle, you see, for most of his life. And when he came back at large, Lila had already killed off his clone- don't ask, please- and he had dad work for him again. But when it came down to the end and it was just me and him and Doyle and Morgan- this is why he's my partner now- and Emily- who we are REALLY not taking any chances with- he took his own life standing right next a bomb with Doyle close by. He hoped it would save my life and Doyle wouldn't kill me. So, I watched him give up, and blow himself up, just so I would have a better life." I paused, not really knowing what to say. "He really was a-a great man."

"I can see that." We had just parked the car and were getting ready to head up when Tony stopped me just before I was about to step out of the parking garage. "Look, no matter how many people have said this to you, it's going to be alright." I searched his face, looking for something that would tell me he was the slightest bit unconfident, the slightest bit fearful, but I found nothing. I shook my head, dumbstruck.

"How can you know with such certainty? I know you love Ziva, so how did you know?"

He paused before saying, "I do love Ziva, your right. Gibbs loves Ziva and she loves the both of us. And he didn't give her permission to die. And seeing as you teams working with us, it seems your brother is covered by that same little rule." I smiled ever so slightly, despite what was happening, at his comment, but said nothing back as we headed up the stairs to the emergency room. We found the two teams in the not so crowded room of waiting, Emily pacing; Abby, Garcia, Ducky, McGee and Palmer all huddled in the corner; With Hotch, Rossi, Morgan and Gibbs all standing across the room by the bad coffee. I walked over to them, Morgan noticing me first. He abruptly broke off his conversation with Hotch and walked over to give me a hug. As we broke apart, he spoke.

"Anna, please tell me why you are not wearing shoes." A muffled laugh escaped me as I laid my head against his shoulder.

"D'you really want to know?" He laughed, too.

"No," he said with a sigh.

"How is he?" I asked finally.

"We don't know," Dave said from behind Morgan.

"What do we know?"

"Not much," answered Hotch. He then proceeded to tell me that he had been called by Jason and was told what happened, so needn't say a word. Gibbs told me to go sit down and drink some coffee, so I took both of their advice and sat down without a word, and a black, soon to be untouched, cup of coffee.

…

Of course _something_ would waltz through the door and mess up my day. As if it wasn't messed already, right? But this… This was bad. The guy who walked through the door and asked for me wasn't a doctor, which I do usually dread, but a man of medium stature who was in a suit and handing me a sealed envelope... from England's government. Not good.

Not good at all.

**AN: Nadia: Kinda short chapter, cliffy as usual, and all that jazz.** **bL00D pRINC3SS, thank you for reviewing as well. You people make my day! Talk to you soon!**

**And sorry for the late update… like VERY late. Life got in the way. **


	7. Across the Pond?

**AN: Nadia: Hey all you readers, what's up?**

**Mel: I doubt they'll talk to you after what you did to them last update, and the update before that-**

**Reid: And the one before that, and the one before th-**

**Nadia: Okay! I get the point! Sorry for all the cliffy's! Just read on… and enjoy! Reviews are quite welcomed. **

At the Hospital…

_**And I am also very sorry about my inability to keep time! I messed up last chapter, shocker, and it has not even been close to a year since Maeve's death. It's been about six(?) month, she died at the very end of December, Anna came in January, and now it's summer, June to be exact, but we are in 2012… sorry, again, for the confusion!**_

"Special Agent Annalynn Maeve Paige?" called the medium height man from the doorway. I felt my face redden as many eyes turned on me, including those of both teams. The man, getting the hint, came stalking over, his jacket blowing behind him. Besides that fact that his jacket looked like Snape's robes, his birdlike nose didn't help him seem any less Snape-like than the normal person should be. _Maybe he's a wizard! Oi! Snape guy! Yes you, are you a wizard?... _Wow. I'm actually starting to scare myself with how tired I am. Maybe I should have drank that coffee. Ah well. Too late now, it seems. Then I shuddered. I remembered the last Snape-like man I encountered; my uncle Ian and his buddy Aiden.

"Are you Special Agent Annalynn Maev-?" the man began as he reached my side.

"Yes, you idiot. And don't call me that," I said with a shudder. "I hate my full name."

"I don't care," he said jerkily. "I don't want to be here at all-"

"Join the club-"

"- but I have to be, so will you just sign this and let me go?" He trusted a clipboard in my face and a pen into my hand.

"What is this for?" I asked before I even thought about signing.

"It's a letter from the English government-"

"Well I can see that, thanks-"

"- that is from a specific branch-"

"-which is-"

"- the department of Visas and Green Cards. Now will you please sign?" His face look tired as he asked for a second time, his voice having the most obvious hint of impatience. I was no longer up for question at all, though, which was good for him, because I signed it quickly. Ever since he had said the letter was from the department of Visas and Green Cards, my jaw had dropped and my stomach had done summersaults. He handed me the letter after I had finished signing and was out the door before anyone could even blink. I turned the envelope over and saw the raised seal of the British Parliament- England's Government. It was gold in some places, which caught my eye, but I tore through the seal like it was just an everyday candy bar would be, if it were to be opened by any ordinary adult. Inside was one sheet of paper, folded into thirds, with the British seal in the upper left corner and several signatures at the bottom. I look at the paper and read it once quickly, feeling the envelope I was holding in my left hand fall to the ground. Garcia took the letter from my hands as I sank, completely in shock, into my seat. Garcia scanned it as well and muttered a soft, "Oh my God…"

"What is it, Penny?" asked Abby.

"It-it says Anna's got t-to leave the country…"

"What? Give me that," said Morgan in disbelief. He took one look at and knew it was true, so, to avoid questions, he read it aloud.

"'_Dear Annalynn Maeve Paige,_

_I regret to inform you that your passport is no longer going to cover your stay in the United States, as you are not a citizen nor are you married. Unfortunately, you will have to return to England by no later than the 15__th__ of March, or you will be arrested by the American Government for being and illegal alien. When you return, as I am sure you will, you will promptly come to London where we shall sort out you living arrangements here though Child Services, seeing as you are still under the age of eighteen, or you will appear here with an adult of your choice who will be able to speak on your behalf and we will sort out a Green Card for you so as to remain in the United States. _

_Best wishes,_

_Sincerely….' _Several names of people who most likely are in Parliament," Morgan said with and exasperated sigh.

"Anna," Hotch said coolly, "are you telling me you are working for a government agency, illegally, without a Green Card or means of actually staying in the country?" I winced when he finished, for his words had become harsher and louder as he spoke. Yes, this _can_ indeed happen with Hotch.

"It seems like it," I said in a small voice.

"How could you let this happen?" Hotch said, slightly seething. "I hired you-I thought you- Garcia!"

"Aaron, come on. Don't take this-" Dave began defensively.

"Don't, Dave. This unaccept-"

"Hotch, I didn't know! I swear!" I yelled, but he was having nothing of it.

"Paige, don't say-"

"Agent Hotchner, I doubt she actually kne-" Tony tried.

"Sir, you should stop-" Abby. Garcia.

McGee stood and said, as everyone else talked over each other, along with the lost voices of Ducky and Palmer, "Agent, she couldn't have possible known su-"

"Guys…" Emily said from beside me. I hadn't noticed but she had moved to sit next to me, her arm around my shoulder as I looked at the floor. "Guys. GUYS!" she yelled getting to her feet, too. Everyone fell silent in her wake of standing and most of the people in the teams sat back down, save for Hotch, Morgan, Emily, Gibbs and Tony.

"What is wrong with you, Hotch? She just said she had no idea this was going on! She swore she didn't! And if you expected her to know everything like Reid and have everything under control at the age she's at, I think you're sadly mistaken. She's not Reid! She's barely an adult-"

"Hey-!" I said defensively. I wasn't barely an adult… was I?

"- so don't treat her like she is Reid, no matter how much she acts his age and not her own." She looked him straight in the eyes before sitting back down next to me and glaring at Hotch, he arm back around my shoulders. Hotch turned his own heated gaze on me. I looked up to him- literally and figuratively. I saw him as someone to look up to, a father I never had. But he, he was nothing but a man who cared about us too much and thought little about how we felt before acting, or speaking! Was that love? Was that what a father is supposed to do? Is this what it feels like to have a father who cares about you far too much, but are so glad you have.

_Yes… yes it is. Think about what _your _father did for you, just so you could live. DUH! This is what it's like being a teenager with a father who loves you!_

"Paige?" Hotch asked after a deep breath, forcing me to look back up to him, meeting his dark eyes. "Did you or did you not-?"

"I didn't! I swear on my mother's grave I didn't! I thought that my Visa on my passport would work until I could get everything sorted, but it seems times run out. And then, I let it slipped my mind when I was given a job at the government, I thought I've be covered but-but it seems I haven't."

"So it does." He sighed. "Listen, get back to NCIS headquarters and stay there-"

"But I-"

"_Don't _'but' me, Paige. You're lucky that guy didn't come in here and haul you back to England! Now, get back to the station. I'll meet you there." I stiffed and stood up. I stood up tall and proud, and let myself show no fear. I stood as tall as I could and looked Hotch right in the eye.

"No."

"WHAT?" chorused several people in the room.

"No," I repeated, crossing my arms. "I won't go. You're not sending me away again, Aaron Hotchner. I'm waiting here with all the rest of you guys, and I'm going to see to it that my brother is safe and sound and that that stupid son of a _bitch_ is put away in some sort of prison where he can't escape even if he died. I am _NOT _walking away from the last family member I have left to go and fix some stupid thing back in England. If he dies and I'm not here, I will never forgive myself and it will be on your head, too, Hotch! Do I make myself clear?"

"Do I make _myself _clear when I say you have to go, or you won't have a chance to do any of that, do you understand me? They will send you away and you won't be able to come back, and I don't want that happen." Everyone was silent as we both just stared at each other, anger and fear eminent in both our voices.

"Aaron, please go sit over there. Anna, you sit in the other side of the room. All the rest of you, stay right where you are," came a warm, yet deep, male voice. Hotch and I knew the voice and chose not to look at Gideon as he, too, walked into the room. I took one more angry look into Hotch's eyes before backing up and turning away. "Good. Now, Jasper is going to go talk to Anna, right?"

"Yeah, sure thing," I heard my friend answer, while I looked back at Hotch, still seething.

"And I'm going to talk to Aaron. The rest of you can talk amongst yourselves." As soon as he said this everyone but Gibbs took the hint and did as they were told. Gibbs walked out of the room, saying he'll be right back when he gets better coffee. Jasper came and stepped in front of me, looking down and smiling. He knelt down in front of me, forcing me too look away from Hotch and into his brown eyes.

"Hey, my little spitfire. How are ya holding up?" he whispered. I said nothing, but sat there and continued to breathe in heavily from anger. "Come on, now. You can talk to me. I know about how you keep those emotions bottled in." Nothing. "Please just tell me, sunshine." _Sunshine… I remember that name. He called me that whenever he knew I was hiding something. He always knew, no matter what and would always be there for me, no matter what._

I started breathing faster and shallower, feeling the hard exterior slip away. I felt my heart shatter and my anger slip away like a ribbon in the wind; And I fell. Tears streamed down my face as I leaned into my friends warm arms, sobbing for all I was worth. I was losing everything. My mum was gone, my dad was gone, my aunt was gone, all my family I knew in England was gone, and now the last piece of me was being taken away. I was being forced away again, just like all the other times when the doctors told me I couldn't follow a loved one back into a different room and all the other times when I was separated from people I loved for something stupid like a date or a problem that could be solved relatively quickly, when in fact, I was needed most where I was a minute ago, where my friend or family has gone into a life one cannot return from. A permanent state to the temporary prognosis of life. It made me realize just how short life was, and how, every day, it could be over for anyone. It scared me to think that, this was so different from what I used to think. And then it hit me when the tidal wave of realization came crashing upon my shores. I feared not death. I cared not if I died, because I didn't fear what happened after death. No. what I feared was not the fearful beast itself, but the aftermath it left others to clean up. I was afraid of what- and who!- I would leave behind and in what state I would leave them in.

_Jasper's POV_

Anna collapsed into my arms almost immediately. Poor thing was scared out of her mind, and she had a pretty good reason, too. All her life, she has watched her family disintegrate around her, just as if her family members where monsters in the Percy Jackson series and someone was going around stabbing them all with a Celestial bronze sword. Anyway. She was a ball of tears and a complete mess for a while. It gave me a mount to remember her, before now. Her, with her long-ass brown hair and deep blue eyes, framed by thick glasses. Her with her confident smile and brilliant wit. Her. Anna. The girl I was in love with… and maybe still am.

"Shhh..." I began to say, as I snapped out of my ravine and cradled my one friend. "It'll be alright soon… Just hang in there, sunshine… Shhh…"

"Jasper…" she sobbed out. "Jas-sper wh-what if y-your wr-rong? W-what's gunn-na happen to m-m-me?"

"Shhh… Nothing's going to happen to you, I promise, okay? Do you trust me?" She nodded. "Good. You might really need to in a while," I murmured.

"W-hy?"

"We really need to get you back to England for a bit. Shhh… Just listen, okay?" She nodded, shakily. "Alright. You have to go, just for a while. I'll go with you, and- and so will someone else! Anyone you want to bring, except Reid and Ziva, which I know sucks, but you have to! Or… or you might never see Reid again." She started to stop crying.

"But, what if R-reid dies here? Th-then I'll never see-"

"Don't think like that! He's going to be just fine, I promise you. He's got to be strong and resilient if he's had to live with you for so long."

She chuckled softly. She looked up to me with her sad, blue, teary eyes and asked, "What do I do, then?"

"Come with me and one of your buddies and will go a crossed the pond for a day or two. We'll get everything sorted, I promise."

"I don't think I can, Jasper. I can't just… leave."

"You did it once before and now you must do it again. But… this time no one's going to die and you'll come back in a few days!" She sighed and laid her head on my shoulder, nodding. I watched as Hotch stood from across the room and made his way over to us. Anna stiffed and sat up, ready to face him like the warrior she was.

"Anna, I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier," he said, sincerity in his voice.

"I hear a 'but' coming, Hotch." He sighed and the taller, African American guy came over. Oh what was his name…? Michel? Mark? No… Morgan!

"Hotch, I'll go with her to England. You stay here and watch over the team. I am her partner," he said. However, the room being as silent as it was, may others stood in protest, yet one voice stood above them all, that of L.J. Gibbs.

"No one's going except Tony. On this case he is her partner, and that holds true until the end of this. Now get going. I see cars pulling up from the local P.D." _That _got everyone moving without argument; A: because no one really wanted to argue with Gibbs, for he was somewhat scary, and B: because we needed to get out of here before Anna got arrested and permanently deported. Anna and I jumped up, Tony trailing behind. We made it to the elevator, but at the last minute, a hand stuck through the doors, stopping us from an already narrow escape from the locals. For a long, breathless second, the three of us waited for the doors opened, showing Morgan step in, and the doors reclosed. He turned to Anna, but she only shot him a confused look.

"I'm not coming," he confirmed. "I just have something for you before you go. So, here." He handed her a small case, coated in deep purple velvet. She went to open in, but Morgan stopped her. "Uh-uh, not so fast, red. This is from your brother for your birthday. He left it with me to find a case, but since your birthdays in two days, I thought you should take it." The elevator dinged as we hit the ground floor.

"I… Thanks, Morgan. I'll see you soon."

"Alright, good luck over there." We began walking to the door when a small, familiar girl walked pasted us, go over to Morgan. It was Shaina. I kept walking, but looked behind me to see Morgan kneeled to speak with her. He said something and she began to cry and scream in agony. I looked away, think about how her parents were gone.

And she was alone.

**AN: Nadia: Okay, so long chapter and all. Kind of boring and kind of sucky. So, sorry.**

**Mel: Have we ever put in a disclaimer?**

**Nadia: *Shrugs* I dunno.**

**Reid: Well, she doesn't own **_**anything.**_** Review for her, or she'll hit me for that. Gotta run!**


	8. Back to the FBI

**Nadia Leigh: Sorry. Just sorry. Life has gotten in my way and I'm sorry. I have to excuses as to why I didn't write; to be honest, I was just too damn lazy! Sorry… again.**

**Mel: DO trust her when she says she's lazy!**

**Nadia: Mel…**

**Morgan: Ladies. Ladies! Let's just all get along, okay?**

**Nadia/Mel: Shut it, Derek!**

**Morgan: -.-**

I looked over at Tony and laughed. He was trying to open up his bag of peanuts with this teeth. I could see it coming before it did; the bag split open and Tony's peanuts went everywhere. Jasper, who sat on the other side of me, joined in with my laughter. We were on the airplane back from London, and yes, I said _back from London._ We had stayed there for a day and a half, getting my legal papers in check. I now have a green card, and an official legal guardian in the States. But, unfortunately, it was not who I thought it would be…

_*Flashback*_

"_Sign 'ere, 'ere and 'ere," said the woman from behind the desk, flipping through all of my papers. I nodded numbly, wishing I was by my brothers side. This was pointless! I've lived in the States for a while now! Jasper, seeing my discomfort, put his hand on my shoulder. A small comfort for an old friend. _

"_Hmm… It's nice ta see young'uns treating eacho'ver with respect. Is he yer boyfri'nd?" My eyes widened and could feel the heat rising from the back of my neck, but I tried to push it down as best I could. Tony stiffened a laugh from the corner of the room, earning himself two glares from two very red teenagers, though I hate to admit that one of those people is me._

"_No," I finally managed to say. "We're just really good friends is all."_

"_Ah. You could 'ave fooled me." She turned in her chair and looked behind her into the next room."Oi! Frank! Brin' me those guardian documents! She ain't old enough to live on 'er own 'nd she ain't got no personal ties there ei'v'er."_

"_Oh, yes I do! I'm a federal agent!" She turned to me and laughed._

"_Right and I'm the Queen."_

"_No really! Look," I said while digging out my badge and showing it to her._

"_Ha. Well look at tha'. Frank!" she called, turning back to the other room. "On second thought, just get me a guardian slip." She turned back and smiled._

"_Who's gunna be your guardian?" Jasper whispered, leaning into my face. I breathed in the scent of his closeness. Mmmm… even after all these years, he still smelled musky and of pine. I always brought me outdoors and back to the country where I grew up with mum._

"_Annie?" His voice broke me from my momentary trance. He was literally the only one who could call me that without being beaten up… unlike Tony._

"_Oh! Um, I suppose its Reid."_

"_But he's not here."_

"_So?"_

"_Your guardian has to sign the slip, too!" Shit! Oh bloody effin' shit! Well this is just perfect._

"'_Ere you are!" I turned back to the lady. "Just sign this and you'll be off! You and yer guardian, tha' is." _

"_Well, we have a small problem. My guardian is in surgery back in the States-"_

"_Listen hunny, I've be'n real nice, ya see. But you'll have to just 'ave 'im in the corner sign it. I ain't got ol' day," she snapped. I looked to Tony who just shrugged._

"_I got this."_

_*End Flashback!*_

So, yeah. The oaf with the peanuts everywhere is now my legal guardian.

The rest of our trip went without a hindrance. Okay, so maybe Jasper didn't like the whole motorbike thing, but I was so ready for it. I had my leather boats, skinny jeans and leather jacket. Yeah, I was ready to ride again. Tony was cool with it, too, having learned how to ride when he went to France with Ziva. Ha! It still makes me laugh when I remember his face.

_*Another Flashback!*_

"_Woah. You look… different," Jasper said as I walked out of the bathroom at the airport, changed for the London weather._

"_Well yes. I've changed." He rolled his eyes. I had a feeling he was trying to lighten the mood, trying to get my mind away from the States._

"_No, you look like… you!"_

"_What, I didn't before?"_

"_Well, yeah… now you look like the Anna I know and love." Aw, how sw- WAIT! Love. Present tense. Woah! Brain-Not-Functioning!_

"_L-love?"_

"_Well, ah…" he started to blush and he rubbed his neck, somewhat embarrassed. Luckily, Tony showed up to clear the awkwardness._

"_Hey teeners!"_

"_Tony…" I growled._

"_Oh. Sorry. I got our keys our vehicles. Next time, you talk to people because she was all blah," he said, the last part in some horrid accent._

"_Tony, from what you just said, and how you said it, I'm willing to guess that person you talked to, had a British, Scottish, or Irish accent, which would make perfect sense because we are in ENGLAND!"_

"_Riiiight." He chuckled. I just rolled my eyes and grabbed one of the keys and went to the vehicle section of the airport. Upon arrival, I turned to the boys and said,_

"_Okay. Tony you take that one- no the blue one! And I'll take Jasper on the black one."_

"_Sweet!"_

"_You want me to ride on that?" Jasper screeched._

"_No. I _expect _you to get your sorry arse on here with me so we can go!" He sighed deeply and turned to the sky._

"_Lord help us all."_

_*okay, you should know by now this is the end of the flashback…*_

Story of my messed up life? My ex-boyfriend and best friend- turned stalker is still in love me and I'm stuck with Tony. The one who is my guardian until I turn 18 and the one who can't open a bag of freakin' peanuts! I'm so excited to get home! (Sarcasm, people.)

"Anna," whispered to me. Yep, I'm in the middle. Woo- NO.

"Hmm."

"Happy seventeenth birthday." I looked at him, not even realizing the day. I smile as I said thank you before reaching for my bag underneath the chair in front of me. I pulled out the small box from Reid that Morgan had given me. Opening it slowly, I saw a letter on top of something. My mother raised me old fashion so I grabbed the letter and shut the box before I saw anything else. The letter read:

"_Dear Anna M. Paige,_

_Gosh, I don't know what to say! Besides Happy Birthday, that is. It's hard to belie it's been six months since we first met, and you've already grown so much! And I just found out about you, too! (Wow I'm making myself sound old!)I wish I knew you growing up. We really could have helped each other! You with mom… and you with the bullies at my school. I don't even know what I could have done for you._

_I'm at my desk right now, hoping you don't come snooping. I don't know what I'd do without you now. I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you for being there when mom died and again when Emily died. Gosh, I miss her so damn much! Before she died we found out she was pregnant. I was so excited, and hoped you would be, too, but I'm sure you would have been. We would have had to move, but I think you'd think it would be worth it so that you, me and Em could watch my son or daughter grow up. But now that's gone. Maybe I should have told you this sooner… but I just couldn't._

_I also just want you to know that from now on you are always in my heart. And to prove it, I got you this gift as an everyday reminder. Happy Birthday!_

_You will always have a place in my heart,_

_Spencer"_

For probably the first time in a few days, I felt an old felling creep back into my bones; love and joy. It made me smile. I folded up the letter and grabbed the box once more. I again opened it slowly, soaking in the special moment. Inside, I saw a gold necklace in the shape of two connected, half formed hearts. I remember seeing it in the "Open Heart" collection once when I was walking by Kay jewelers, but something else caught my eye; writing. Engraved on the connecting line were the words "Always here".

With a smile, I put the necklace on, realizing how tired I now was. I put the letter and the box away, before shifting into a more comfortable position, with my head on Jasper's shoulder. "Maybe I still love you, too, Jasper," was my last thought before sleep-and the Red Eye- took me home.


	9. Nightmares and Daydreams

**AN: Nadia: Sup people?**

**Mel: Oh, nothing. We just haven't heard from you in ages!**

**Nadia: Well, I have some exciting news. I might be in a movie!**

**Everyone: WHAT?!**

**Nadia: What.**

…

"Morgan! Morgan, oh thank god." I yelled as I walked into the hospital. I ran to him and hugged him tightly. He hugged me back. He was… shaking? Sobbing? _Oh, God no._ "Morgan?"

"Anna…" he pulled away from me and looked into my eyes. "He's in bad shape." Tears brimmed my eyes. _This can't be happening. Not after all I've done! NO. NO no no no no no! _

"You're lying." A pause. He sighs. My world is crash in slow motion. Right in front of me. "Right?"

"Anna." I want to collapse. Everything's slipping. It's all just… sand falling through my fingers. Morgan sighed again and hugged me close once more. I was shaking my head, or… or maybe I was just shaking period.

"What's going on?"

"Let me take you upstairs… We don't know much, but we know whatever these doctors aren't telling us, it's nothing good." I stepped out of his embrace, and walked towards the elevator, whispering as I go.

"Take me to him."

…

The waiting room was the same as I had left it, only this time no one was pacing, no one was standing, no one was specking. But the same look of dread was on all their faces. My breathing was coming in short, shallow gasps, and more than one tear slide from my eye, and my lips formed a tight line. I scanned the room. Hotch, Rossi, Jason, Ducky, Gibbs, skip a chair or two, Garcia, Abby, Emily, McGee, and Palmer. I walked straight to Hotch.

"Aaron," I started, but he cut me off.

"We don't know." I swallowed hard.

"And Ziva?" Hotch made a sideways glance at Tony.

"She's fine. She made it out of surgery and we're just waiting for the okay to see her." I nodded, looking from his face to the ground.

"Where's his doctor."

"Agent Paige, they won't tell us-"

"That's right, Agent Gibbs. They wouldn't tell _you._ I'm family," I looked up at Gibbs, who now stood in front of me. "They have to tell me. They have to." Gibbs looked to Hotch, who looked straight at me, arms crossed stern look on his face- Hotch was being Hotch.

"I'll take you to the doctor on one condition." I nodded. "After you see him, you'll give us any information you gather." I gave him the weakest smile and nodded. He began to walk, fast as always, making me turn and sprint to keep up with him. _Damn. He must be really desperate if he's doing this and not forcing me back to a hotel or something. Did they really get nothing? Oh dear Gods- whichever one is listening- if he's dead, I don't know how I will live._ We stopped at a receptionist's desk, and Hotch was speaking, but all I heard was the beating of my heart. _Mum, dad, Diana… I know you're watching us- all of us! And if you can hear me… send me back my Reid. Send me back my brother!_ Suddenly, lights began to flash and sirens went off everywhere. Someone called a Code Blue and all I could think of was Reid.

"Oh, God," someone next me whispered. I turned to see an elderly man standing there. When I first laid eyes on him, everything became silent. The man turned to me. He was tall, not as tall as Reid, but tall, his face wrinkled and draw, as from years of work. His eyes, oh his captivating eyes! How they held me and forced every word to leave my lips. He pursed his before making a popping sound. "Oh, God indeed. The names William. I heard you were looking for me?" Those eye's… they were so familiar…

"Will? Is that you over there?" an elderly woman called, another at her side. I gasped; the first woman…

"Mum?"

"What?" she turned to me. "I've only one child and she isn't here. If she is, she'd be dead." As she spoke, her voice became more youthful, and so did the rest of her. Soon, she, and the other two, I might add, looked to be about my age. "Oh, you poor thing. You must have just died. How did you go? Car crash?"

"No, no mum it's me! It's Anna."

"Anna? Oh my, have you grown." She hugged me, an odd smile on her face.

"Maeve, dear, introduce us to your new friend!" exclaimed the girl who looked like Diana.

"Mum. You don't remember me… do you?"

"Of course I do! You're Annie! You know, I have a daughter named Anna. You look a bit like her."

"Mum, I am your Anna. I'm your daughter!"

"Oh no… I just looked into my girl a moment ago. She was talking to me and Will and Diana a second ago! She's not dead yet! I don't expect her now for many years to come."

"Maeve," Will started, stepping forward. "I think this may really be her."

"Nonsense! My Anna… my Anna looks… I can't remember. I'll just go back to watch her, shall I?"

"Mum, you don't remember me?"

"I'm sorry dear, I didn't catch your name." She was beginning to shrivel up into that old woman again.

"Mum, it's me! It's Anna!"

"Oh! My daughter's name is Anna! Do you know her?" I shook my head as the three of them moved closer to me, all of them crowding in on me, each with a finger pointed at me.

I jumped as all three fingers went through me at once.

…

It took all my will not to scream as I sat straight up. Jasper jumped as well and looked around wildly. I couldn't regulate my breathing. This was the worst thing that could possibly be happening. Reid might be dead right now and we have no information and-

I had to get out of here! I tried to stand, but could barely move above the seat. Jasper was trying to speak to me but I could hear him, my mind was elsewhere and running at a hundred miles a minute. What brought me back was this slap that came across my face. I gasped and looked about wildly for the source of the violence and my eyes fell on one Tony DiNozzo. My eyes narrowed and I punched him in the nose. His head flew back and he grabbed his face, yelling in pain. My own hands flew to my face and Jasper could be heard in the background saying "Oh, shit," through his laughter.

"Tony! I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me! I was just- wait, where are we?"

"Somewhere over the northeast," he answered in pain. I almost laughed with joy myself.

"Then I was just dreaming! It was all a dream! Ha!" I sat back in my airplane chair. Wow. That was a horrible nightmare.

"Yeah, and I was trying to wake you back up! And you _punched_ me! Why-"

"Sir, can I get you anything?" a panicked flight attendant asked. Tony laughed ruefully.

"No," he breathed. "My face is just bleeding all over my nice suit." She straightened, clearly offended.

"Some napkins would be nice, please," Jasper said politely. The stewardess left quickly. Jasper looked to me next and asked the obvious question. "Are you okay, Annie?"

"Yeah," I answered, beginning to catch my breath, "Yeah. Just a really bad nightmare, is all." A different stewardess came back with napkins for Tony and Jasper asked her for two coffees- oh, make that three… Tony wanted one, too. When she came back with the coffees, I had calmed down, my breathing back to normal, and Tony had cleaned of his face, his nose no longer bleeding. He gave the poor woman his bloodied napkins and she walked off, a disgusted look on her face. Jasper shoved a cup of the coffee into my now stilled hands and we sat in silence for a moment.

"So… Care to share your little adventure into the world of not-so-nice dreams?"

"Yeah. It started off as we had just gotten back to the hospital…"

…

When we arrived to the hospital, for _real_ this time, I was dressed in a navy halter top and kakis, my leather boots still on underneath the pant legs. After I had changed this time, I had to explain why my wrists were how they were. Yes, as most would guess, DiNozzo thought I had tried to slit them open; what a git! I was so done with explaining myself, especially after I had to explain my dream to the two curious men, I opted to wear my leather jacket, as to avoid the stares I was so used to getting. Needless to say, I was just glad to be home, though I could have gone without having my guardian being an absolute abomination.

Instead of seeing Morgan downstairs like in my dream, we met up with Garcia, who was accompanied by Hotch (must not trust her alone with cafeteria food and coffee anymore…). When she saw me, she slammed all the food into Hotch's already full hands and ran over to me, engulfing me in a bone crushing hug. I laughed. _Things must definitely be okay. _She pulled away from me and smiled. Before I could even ask, she was already speaking about Reid and Ziva.

"SO, I took the liberty to hack into the hospitals mainframe and got all the information on Reid and Ziva before any of the doctors could come to us. Both are post-op and fine. Reid's actually up and whining because they gave him some pain meds early. Ziva's up and about causing havoc and looking for Tony. Oh, and Reid's asking for you." She leaned in close and whispered, "He keeps saying he's got something very important to tell you. It's probably something about him having to be in a sling for a long time and you having to learn to shoot a gun, or something like that." She again pulled away and all I could do was smile at her.

"Where is he?" I asked through light laughter.

"Upstairs. Come on, I'll show you." Garcia practically dragged me to the elevator as the two boys went to help the overwhelmed Hotch. As the doors closed, Garcia hit number 4 and it lit up and we began to ascend. When we reached our floor, we scooted out and sprinted down the hall to room 406, a double room with only one occupant. Garcia stormed in said 'Hi' then left just as fast, mentioning something about finding Morgan. I, however, walked in slowly and approached Reid's bed.

"Hey, you little bugger. How do you feel?" I asked, sitting on his bed. He laughed.

"I'm fine. I heard you had quite the birthday adventure."

"Hmm, you're proud you stuck that in there, aren't you?"

"Very." I laughed with him.

"Ahh, I did have quite the adventure this year. I had to fly all the way to England to renew my citizenship, and had to get guardian-"

"Who? I wasn't there and neither was any of the team… unless you went with JJ."

"Oh, I wish I went with JJ. That one man from NCIS, the silly one? Yeah, well he's my guardian until next year, when I turn eighteen." Reid again laughed.

"You don't have to live with him or anything, do you?"

"Bloody hell, that would suck."

"I'll take that as a no." He was chuckling, and at that moment, I knew everything was just the way it needed to be.

…

Jasper was waiting for me outside the door with another cup of coffee in his hand. I smiled and nodded in thanks. He tilted his head to the left and indicated I follow him, which I did, and he lead me to room 414, another double room with only one patient in it; Ziva David. We stepped in, Jasper holding the door open for me, and I noticed Tony and Ziva sitting there, hand in hand. Tony turned when he heard the door click open.

"Hi," he said.

"Hey. Shalom, Ziva. How do you feel?"

"I am fine, thank you."

"Good." And then I noticed something odd. A small smile formed on her face and she looked to Tony, a loving look in her eye._ So Tony finally confessed, I see. Only took him almost losing her to admit it! Ah, what a sorry arse of a guardian I have._

Tony's voice pulled me from my thoughts. "Anna, we-we wanted to tell you that-"

"That you're together? Yes, well, I can already see that, thanks."

"No!" Ziva gave him a threating look. "Well, yes, but there's something else." Both began to smile madly, which made my eyebrows knit together in confusion.

"And that is…?"

"We have decided to also guardian Shaina." My eyes bulged and the coffee I had been sipping began to choke me. Jasper hit me on the back and I began to cough.

"What?" I croaked. _Bloody hell, we've been home all but an hour and he's already with Ziva and wants to take care of Shaina? I- Wow. What the HELL happened here?!_

"Gotcha!" Tony yelled. Ziva smile grew.

"Oh, that was cruel. So very, very cruel. Did Garcia put you up to this?"

"No-"

"Yes-" They looked at each other.

"Yes-"

"No-" They looked again. Ziva gave Tony a look, and he shut up, his lips clamped together.

"Ohhhh, Ziva! You so have to teach me how to _do that!"_ Ziva smiled, Tony glared, and I cleared my throat. "So, Garcia put you up to this?"

"Yes. Well, no. She and Abby did."

"Together," Tony finished.

"Aww, how cute! You're already finishing each other's sentences." This time both parties glared. "And you glare together. Okay, well, I think it's time for me to bow out. Ah, Congrats Tony for finally- how did you say?- growing a pair and admitting your love for Ziva. Ziva, congrats on living and… getting that." Now it was Tony's turn to have his eyes bulge and Ziva looked confused. _Opps. I don't think he told her that part was for real yet. _I gave a weak laugh before turning and practically running out of the room, Jasper behind me, an 'Oh, shit!' look on his face.

…

We ran past the two teams and down the five flights of stairs until we were in the basement cafeteria. When we got there, we were laughing and huffing, trying to catch our breath. We found a spot in a secluded corner and sat, laughing until our sides hurt.

Still laughing, but more quietly now, I said, "Oh, God. Did you see the look on her face?"

"Did you see the look on _his_ face? Priceless." We laughed again. God, it felt good to laugh. I haven't laughed like this in ages, probably since mum died. It's never truly been okay until now… almost six months later. I felt my laughter melt away.

"Annie? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just… I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too, Annie." I looked into his eyes and saw the warmth of an angel and the honesty he always held. _My, has he changed. He's much more… caring now._

'_No, Anna! Don't forget all he's done to you!' another part of me argued._

_But that was years ago!_

'_So?'_

_He's changed!_

'_Can you know that for sure?'_

"No," I whispered. Jasper gave me an odd look, "But there's only one way to find out."

And so, I leaned over the table and kissed him.


	10. It Begins

**AN: Nadia: So, ah, sorry probably doesn't cut it for this late of an update… I mean, almost a year without an update? God, that's bad! Dear Lord, I can't even... ANYWAY. No movie for me, but I did graduate early and am now in University! Yeah for me! So yeah. Life.**

**Here you go, guys! Thanks for waiting and reviewing!**

…

_One month later…_

…

I walked into the bullpen of the BAU for the first time in, what felt like, an eternity. I had been out of work for the past few days- or shall I say week and a half- because Jasper so kindly got me sick with both a cold and laryngitis. I'm going to kill him someday, I swear. And with Abby's help, I'll do it without leaving behind any forensic evidence.

Anyway, because he got me sick, I was forced to stay in my room at the apartment Reid and I lived in. Which brings me to the second reason I'm mad that I got sick; we're moving. Yep, Reid and I are going to be moving into a bigger flat, this one with four bedrooms, so that Emily and the kid can be with us. It's not really so bad to have to move, I mean Reid and I were starting to grow out of the old apartment, but it's really hard to pack when you can barely move or speak, let alone leave the room. But I did what I could and moved on with my life.

I walked into Hotch's office as soon as I made it up the stairs. He was bent over his desk, as always, doing paper work so that the rest of us could actually have life outside of work. I looked around the office and noticed stacks of folders that really should have been dropped of next door to my office, but stood tall. I sighed quietly and leaned against the door frame, still completely unnoticed by Hotch.

"Hey there, boss man," I said quietly, due to the fact that I really couldn't talk all too loudly. Hotch looked up immediately.

"Paige, you're back. I didn't expect to see you for a few more days."

"Yeah, well I was going positively mad in that flat, so I snuck out this morning."

"Really?"

"No!" I yelled (sort of) in disbelief. "I don't have a car!"

"Right," he nodded, his brow ferried, and looked back to his work. I frowned and took a step into the room.

"Hotch? Everything alright?" He looked up with his stoic face and met my gaze blankly. I hardened my eyes and stared him down until he looked down and said, "Come in and shut the door. I've got some things I have to discuss with you."

With a worried feeling in my heart, I moved to sit across from him and shut the door.

…

"I'm telling you, she's gone crazy!" Reid exclaimed as he and Morgan exited the elevator.

"She's pregnant with your kid, remember? She's aloud to be crazy."

"Yeah, sure, a bit! But now she's gone insane!" Morgan laughed at his friend's expense.

"I'll bet you're glad you've got Anna then." he said as they reached Reid, Emily and his own desk. He looked at his desk and sighed inwardly. He'd given his office to some other agent after Anna had come and taken JJ's office. He had been more than willing to do it, but it was still a down grade and he definitely missed the quiet solitude of his own office.

Reid scuffed. "I would, but ever since she got sick, Emily won't let her in the same room when she's in it. I feel bad for Anna, because it is her house, but-"

"But deep down you know Em's right." Reid nodded. "Well, you did get shot, so she can't expect you to do everything." Reid shock his head and gave a short laugh.

"Sure. The only things she knows I'm not allowed to do is lift or shoot things. Everything else is fair game." They both laughed as a slightly angry Emily walked over to them, Dave just behind her.

"What's so funny?" she asked. Reid immediately sobered, knowing how moody his pregnant girlfriend could get.

"Nothing, sweet heart." Emily raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms before shifting her gaze to Morgan, who had still been laughing, until Emily locked eyes with him.

"Ah, just how Reid's been behind on his work at home because…" his eyes shifted. Luckily he was saved by the voice of the newest member of the team yelling down from the stairs leading up to Hotch's offices.

…

I was dismissed from Hotch's office quietly and was told to gather the team to inform them of what Hotch just told me. I closed the door behind me, my hands shaking ever so slightly, and walked over to the stairs, where I leaned on the banister and over looked the bull pen. I spotted the rest of the team, minus Garcia, gathered around my brother and co-workers desks and called down to them.

"Hey, guys?" I swallowed hard and blinked as they all looked up to me, hearing me, even though my voice was still somewhat weak. I looked over them all; Reid, with a shifty look from me to Emily, most likely because he was caught under her scruple again; Morgan with a grateful look in his eyes as he shifted away from Emily; Emily, with her eyebrows raised and her arms crossed over her growing stomach; and Dave, whose hands sat in their respective pockets as he tried to hide a slight grin forming on his face from the scene unfolding in front of him. I sighed, as I heard the door behind me open, signalling Hotch's entrance. "We've, ah, got a case. And it's rather urgent." Most of the team nodded and made to move towards the conference room, except Morgan who stood and spoke.

"I'll go get Garcia."

I made to open my mouth, but Hotch spoke up from behind me. "There's no need." I turned my back to the group and looked to Hotch, who saw the desperation in my eyes. He merely gave me a grim look and turned to the conference room. I closed my eyes, until I felt a hand at my back. My eyes shot open and I looked up to see Reid standing next me, a worried look on his face. I instantly summoned a happy face and turned to him.

"Hey! What did you do to piss off Em this time, tiger?" I teased, hoping to fool him for at least a little longer.

"Nothing." I could tell he didn't buy it, not for one second. "Morgan and I were just joking around."

"About?"

"About how your brother's become Emily's personal butler," spoke Morgan with a grin as he walked passed. I took my escape and followed him quickly, Reid not far behind.

"Yeah, you bet he is. You should see some of the stuff Em has him runnin' about and doing." I gave what I hoped was a more convincing smile, that faded as soon as we reached the conference room. I stopped just outside the door after Morgan entered. Reid was by my side a second later.

"Anna? Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I said in a distance voice. "I will be." I moved into the room stepped in front of everyone, as I had done several times before.

Only this time was different. It felt as if the world moved in slow motion. All I could hear was the sound of my heart beating in my throat. All I could feel were the eyes of the others on my back. I took a deep breath as I turned to face them, a small smile plastered on my face.

"Um, I, er… I have some… news from… uh…" I stumbled as the familiar lump formed in my throat and water gathered in my eyes. I rubbed my face over with my right hand and sighed before blurting it out, my eyes on the ground.

"Garcia's missing."


End file.
